Archive for the ‘Military’ Category
Climate change can strain region’s security
Image source: dfg.ca.gov
By Evan A. Laksmana
FOLLOWING the recent ‘triple disaster’ in Indonesia – the flooding in Papua, the tsunami that hit the Mentawai islands, and the volcanic eruption in Central Java – some are wondering whether climate change will increase the intensity and frequency of similar events in the region.
The Singapore-based Economy and Environment Programme for South-east Asia (a project under the International Development Research Centre of Canada), for instance, has shown that the Read the rest of this entry »
The Indonesian Defence Forces: Strategic Changes and Implications
Image source: oursurprisingworld.com
by Evan A. Laksmana
FOLLOWING PRESIDENT Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s re-election in November 2009, the Indonesian National Defence Forces (TNI) have undergone several structural changes, many of which escaped notice of a public distracted by the numerous political dramas unfolding in Jakarta.
Many of these changes will have significant implications for the country’s still nascent military reform process and could potentially change the entire outlook of the defence establishment. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-engagement with Kopassus
By Evan A. Laksmana
The recent announcement by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that the US will begin “a gradual, limited program of security cooperation activities” with the Indonesian Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) sparked an immediate controversy.
While the ban restricting the Kopassus from training on US soil or receive funding for lethal combat training is still likely to be in place for a while, the symbolic statement of opening formal lines of communications — beginning with “staff level discussions”— speaks louder than the actual deed. Read the rest of this entry »
To vote or not to vote, that is not the question
Image source: pemiluindonesia.com
By Evan A. Laksmana
Among the basic rights of any citizen, soldiers included, is the right to vote. But this has not been the case for members of the Indonesian military (TNI), who last exercised this right in the country’s first general elections in 1955.
In fact, since 1971, soldiers had been barred from voting. In return, the TNI was given fixed seats in the national and local parliaments, although the practice was discontinued after 2004. Read the rest of this entry »
Is China failing SE Asia’s test?
Image source: travel.nationalgeographic.com
by Evan A. Laksmana
With all the bombast surrounding the 60th anniversary of China-Indonesia relations in the last few months, many seem unaware of recent developments in the South China Sea. In the last fortnight, details have emerged regarding the Chinese Navy’s growing assertiveness and naval projection capability in the region.
According to a recent report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a flotilla of six ships from the North Sea Fleet sailed on March 18 on a “long-distance training exercise” in the vicinity of the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands — and reportedly near the Malacca Strait as well. Read the rest of this entry »
Reinterpreting the Total Defense System
Image source: anisavitri.wordpress.com
By Evan A. Laksmana
Few people pay attention to our state defense doctrine the Total Defense System (Sistem Pertahanan Semesta or Sishanta), although this doctrine (published by the Defense Ministry in 2007 and publicly available) shapes the legal, political, intellectual, and even operational foundation of our entire national security system.
After 12 years of reform following the fall of Soeharto in 1998, it is important to reinterpret this doctrine and its implications for our national security. Read the rest of this entry »
Defense and leaders transformation
![..., as former US Naval War College president James Stockdale said, “Great teachers, able to give those around [them] a sense of perspective and to set the moral, social and motivational climate among his followers.”](http://www.overseasthinktankforindonesia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Pintu-gerbang-akmil.jpg "..., as former US Naval War College president James Stockdale said, “Great teachers, able to give those around [them] a sense of perspective and to set the moral, social and motivational climate among his followers.”")
by Evan A. Laksmana
This month, the Indonesian Military (TNI) would have embarked on around 12 years of reform since Soeharto fell in 1998. Though civil society groups might still cry foul over their lack of “wholehearted” willingness to change, we need to think about what’s next; the transition from a “military reform”-oriented process to a “defense transformation”.
A “reform” agenda implies fixing certain aspects of the military’s “distorted” roles and functions. Given that Soeharto abused the military as a regime maintenance tool, this would logically mean focusing on getting the TNI out of politics and out of business, and submit to democratic civilian control and the rule of law. Read the rest of this entry »
Dialog Tragedi Kemanusiaan Mei 1998: dari Keterasingan Menjadi Karib
Oleh Dr. Beni Bevly
Dalam dialog Tragedi Kemanusiaan Mei 1998 dengan topik dari Keterasingan Menjadi Karib di Union City, San Francisco Bay Area pada tanggal 16 May 2010, kembali lagi berkumandang pertanyaan dan dialog mengenai: Mengapa perbuatan biadab ini terjadi? Apakah sudah ada penyelesaiannya? Bagaimana supaya hal ini tidak terjadi lagi? Apa yang bisa mereka lakukan dari Amerika?
Peringatan yang dimulai dengan makan malam bersama pada jam lima sore, berlajut dengan dialog hingga jam delapan malam, dihadiri sekitar 100 orang peserta, beberapa nara sumber, antara lain Romo Mutiara Andalas, SJ, Dr. Silvia Tiwon dari University of California Berkeley, Nina Jusuf dari Transformasi, dan saya sendiri sebagai moderator ternyata berjalan dengan penuh antusias. Read the rest of this entry »
Asia’s ‘Holy Grail’ of regional architecture
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
By Evan A. Laksmana
The recent debate regarding the expansion of the East Asia Community (EAS) by allowing Russia to join the ASEAN-driven grouping highlights the continued search for a better, more integrated regional architecture.
In fact, if one looks at the discourse within the last few years, crafting a new “regional architecture” has been somewhat the watchword of both government officials and scholars alike. Read the rest of this entry »
Military postings are now less political
by Evan A. Laksmana
AWAY from the glare of the headlines, a fundamental shift has quietly taken place in the Indonesian military (TNI).
In the last three months, there have been at least four waves of personnel changes. The first, on Oct 23, involved 46 officers. Another reshuffle on Nov 17 involved 11 officers; on Nov 30, 72 officers; and Dec 29, 51 officers.
The transfers affected a wide range of commands and brought about changes in posts across the board, including those of the three service chiefs, the chief of general staff, the chief of military intelligence, the commander of army special forces (Kopassus), and the regional commanders of Papua, Sulawesi, Aceh, West Java and Central Java, to name a few. Read the rest of this entry »
U.S. Training of Kopassus
(Below is a letter from The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) that warned President Barack Obama against renewing any U.S. training for Indonesia’s notorious special forces and urged to sign a petition)
Contact: John M. Miller, East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN), +1-718-596-7668; 917-690-4391, etan@etan.org
U.S. Training of Kopassus: A Bad Idea Whose Time Has Not Come
The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) warned President Barack Obama against renewing any U.S. training for Indonesia’s notorious special forces. Read the rest of this entry »
The missing nuts and bolts of defense reform
Image source: republika.co.id
by Evan A. Laksmana
By the end of January, the Defense Ministry’s 100-day program will expire, with key milestones seemingly drowned out by the domestic m*l*e over President Yudhoyono’s characteristic indecision.
More disconcerting, however, is that the ministry seems unable to move away from the existing trend over the past decade of sidelining the key nuts-and-bolts issue of defense reform. Read the rest of this entry »
Review of 2009: RI’s changing geo-strategic currents
Image source: news.xinhuanet.com
by Evan A. Laksmana
The Asia Pacific region was by-and-large relatively stable throughout 2009. Yet, beneath the flurry of “regional architecture” building throughout the year, strategic developments within the region have actually been following four main trends that will have significant ramifications for Indonesia’s strategic relevance.
First, great power politics seemed to be making a comeback – as did the use of military aid and cooperation as their tools. Read the rest of this entry »
Defense reforms for 2010-14: Men over materiel?
Image source: english.peopledaily.com.cn
By Evan A. Laksmana
“To defend everything is to defend nothing.” There is a lot of wisdom in this old military axiom. Indeed, it is hard to deny that when it comes to national defense, and even war, we just simply can’t do it all. We need to prioritize.
Yet, when we briefly glance through the recent policies made by the Defense Ministry for its 100-day program, the policy makers there seem to be doing the exact opposite – from stepping up military modernization, strengthening local defense industries, to improving border security and disaster management.
The more worrying aspect, however, is not so much the all-embracing priorities, but the perception that the next step after getting the military out of politics and business is to upgrade their weaponry. Read the rest of this entry »
Climate change is also defense and security problem
Image source: beritajakarta.com
by Evan A. Laksmana
We are now only less than a month away from the UN summit on climate Change in Copenhagen to hammer out a new post-Kyoto deal to save the planet.
Meanwhile, recent reports show that in Southeast Asia, one of the most susceptible regions to climate change, more than 750,000 people have died between 1998 and 2009 from natural disasters.
Indonesia too will soon see firsthand the increases in the severity of drought, flooding, forest fires, rising sea level and extreme weather conditions.
Yet, with this impending disaster, the then defense minister Juwono Sudarsono said recently his department had no specific national security agenda for climate change.
This statement is shocking – not least for its lack of concern about how climate change could radically change our national defense. Read the rest of this entry »
