Podcasts

Indonesian policymakers must not omit certain aspects of international politics such as potential sanctions that could result from weapons procurement, and that would jeopardise the National Armed Forces (TNI)’s long-term modernisation plan. It is therefore crucial for Indonesia to find ways to minimise such a risk by carefully assessing its potential suppliers, their country of origins’ foreign policies, as well as their track records.

Ade Marboen, who was one of the speakers in our recent webinar, stated that Indonesia needed to find alternatives to Russian weapons operated by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) in order to minimise the risk of being sanctioned.

Curie Maharani Savitri argued in our recent webinar that Indonesia should take into consideration three aspects for its long-term defence modernisation plan. First, Indonesian law stipulates that there cannot be any risk of embargo in procurement deals. Second, Indonesia should not acquire weapon systems from countries with whom it is in conflict. And, finally, the country must ensure its independence in the use and maintenance of weapon systems.

In our recent webinar, Alman Helvas Ali reminded that during the prelude to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, states like Germany or Israel banned other countries from re-exporting their weapon systems to Ukraine. Consequently, Alman emphasised that Indonesia must learn from what happened and choose suppliers from countries whose foreign policy remains stable, especially in terms of arms export.

Alman Helvas Ali reasoned that submarine procurement is urgent, and the process needs to take into account other important factors such as qualified human resources, and MRO (maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul). He further insisted that the country has the capacity to revive its submarine fleet, but that the decision-making process has to carefully study the issue.

Ade Marboen argued that due to Indonesia’s geography, the country Indonesia cannot go forward without submarines in light of its geographic exposition. He affirmed that the country’s finance, geopolitical context and existing threats should model the format of the submarine fleet.

Colonel Arif Badrudin emphasised the importance of submarines’ role in a defence strategy. He explained that countries in the Asia-Pacific have been actively pursuing submarine procurement, both quantitatively and qualitatively, in order to adopt a credible defence posture.

Col. Dedy Laksmono from Indonesian Ministry of Defence explained Indonesia’s current policy on Counter Trade, Local Content, and/or Offsets (CTLCO) and how Indonesia could achieve its defence industry priority programs.

Curie Maharani Savitri discussed what would it take for Indonesia to be able to modernise its armed forces through effective offset strategies, and how could the country increase its strategic autonomy when it comes to defence industry and arms procurement.

Alman Helvas Ali highlighted the economic opportunities that Indonesia can obtain from offsets program in defence equipment procurement and how to maximise this opportunity in the post-Minimum Essential Force (MEF) era.

Novan Iman Santosa noted the current state of Indonesian defence industry and how low-tier industries could also become part of the global supply chain and contribute to the country’s economy by maximising the opportunities of offset programs.