Military Theory: The Value of Defense Science
The Indonesian Military, or TNI, conducted a large-scale military drill in the Asembagus area of Situbondo district, East Java, in the southern Indian Ocean and in Bali, from June 1-5, in what will be the last joint military exercise of the current administration.
The modern, sophisticated and newly acquired weapon system of the TNI was deployed in the exercise, illustrating that the forces are ready to face grave external threat and defend Indonesia against invasion by land, sea and air.
The TNI is essentially realist in its outlook, building its forces and planning its strategies based on a range of threat scenarios.
Theoretically, the objective of the drill was to inspire initiative and creative thinking for the purpose of defense strategies, in addition to assessing how the TNI's military doctrine relates to its military operations, in strategic, operational, tactical and other technical aspects.
On a practical level, the drill aimed to test the endurance and professionalism of the soldiers and the reliability of the TNI's military equipment.
Although the official defense documents did not name the countries that might pose a threat to Indonesia, the joint exercise — which involved the army, navy and air force — was not intended to correspond to a potential threat from any particular countries that could be perceived as adversaries.
Indonesia is and will continue to exist in an environment where internal and external threats to security are both commonplace and ever-present.
The exercise was more the political manifestation of Indonesia's military capability, as one element of the country's national strength.
To that end, the defense policy-makers of Indonesia are less concerned with power as capability, power-in-being or the conversion process of material means into power, and more with the outcome of power itself — that is, how Indonesia may prevail in any given circumstances.
That is the background to the statement made by TNI chief General Moeldoko in advance of the exercise — that the military drill served to improve the combat proficiency of the entire corps.
In the eyes of Indonesia's defense planners, the joint military exercise could be the manifestation of Indonesia's national interests. Taking the country's geographic expanse into consideration, the ability to defend Indonesia when it counts means that the TNI will need to get it right every time.
But they will also have to accept the fact that military power, in and of itself, may no longer describe the pivotal factor of strength. Other elements, such as economics, science and technology, have become increasingly important.
Defense science can assist the Indonesian Defense Force in improving its defense performance by employing new military technology, military concepts and military methods.
Defense science can also generate innovative and creative thinking to assist the TNI in defending the country through operational research, armaments research, and rocket and radar research.
The massive military drill exhibited Indonesia's competitive weapons — sophisticated tanks and jet fighters, to mention just a couple. Those types of weapons were imported in response to the country's lack of sufficient industrial and scientific infrastructure.
But some, if not all of the non-competitive weapons the TNI has at its disposal, such as assault weapons and armored floating vehicles, are produced in Indonesia. That reveals the importance of the role science plays in planning Indonesia's defense program.
Indonesia's quest for self-reliant, effective defense, and for the possession of more domestically produced weapons requires the country to establish a defense science organization sanctioned by national regulation.
The problem here is that we do not have someone we can look to as the forefather of Indonesian defense science.
Juwono Sudarsono was the country's first civilian to become the minister of defense. Both the restructuring of the Department of Defense (now the Defense Ministry), due to the growing demands for an effective and responsive organization, and the innovation of the country's defense policy can be attributed to Juwono Sudarsono.
The brilliant ideas Juwono contributed to the country's national defense have been nationally recognized. But it's up for debate if Indonesian defense science originates in Pak Juwono.
At present, we lack clear and available information as to when and how defense science took root in Indonesia, and we can't be sure whether the technical, strategic and operational aspects of the 2014 joint military exercise are the result of — or even related to — defense science.
If that be the case, then one should draw the conclusion that defense science does not actually exist.
What one might call defense science is, in fact, just the "normal" sciences applied to military objectives.
As of yet, no one has even attempted to analyze the recent joint military exercise through the prism of the so-called defense science.
Assuming, however, that defense science does indeed exist — and that it has entered a broader discourse at the national level to reach university curriculum — then one should expect to see the presence of some kind of organization, such as a defense science organization, in addition to a defense science council and a defense science laboratory — all of which would serve the immediate and long-term needs of the TNI.
This is the process by which we can observe the scientist-soldier strategic partnership. As of yet, this process and its means are nonexistent.
The initiative taken by the former first rector of the Defense University, Syarifuddin Tippe, to familiarize the academics with defense science, both at the Defense University and elsewhere, in addition to establishing a defense science community, is not at all a bad idea. Provided, that is, that at the outset, we both acknowledge that defense science does indeed exist in Indonesia — and that we recognize someone as the originator of Indonesian defense science.
In spite of the perceived non-existence of defense science in Indonesia, and the uncertainty as to whether the joint military exercise has relevance for the development of defense science, the 2014 Indonesian Military joint exercise should not be underrated.
It clearly reflects an attempt by the national defense decision-makers to employ concepts, methods and perhaps a system which could increase the overall military capability and the military skills of the armed forces.
In short, the message delivered by the joint military exercise is for the country to maximize the use of its military capability in a variety of operations against the country's perceived adversaries, domestic or foreign.
Defense science — if it does exist in Indonesia — will definitely be an important determinant in measuring not only the reliability of the country's weapons system, but also the effectiveness of the methods, systems and concepts employed by the TNI in particular circumstances.
Bantarto Bandoro is a senior lecturer at the School of Defense Strategy at the Indonesian Defense University, and the founder of the Institute For Defense Research (IDSR), Jakarta.
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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/developing-indonesia-best-offense-formidable-defense/
In Developing Indonesia, the Best Offense Is a Formidable Defense
In his conversation with the Jakarta Globe published on June 18, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro asserted that "Indonesia wants peace, but we must also prepare for war."
It is not very clear what he is really up to when he said this, but when one tries to associate the statement with the main topic of his conversation, it can be assumed that he was referring to the role of Indonesia's defense industry during peace as well as in wartime.
Unlike the US, where the emergent peace and wartime defense industry was an unprecedented event in the history of the American republic (the US-Soviet Cold War in the late 1940s and Korean war in1950), the emergence of a significant portion of Indonesia's peace and wartime defense industry has no historical link, as Indonesia enjoyed a relatively secured external environment and is far from being involved in a total war against a foreign country.
However, the quest for Indonesia to develop a reliable and sustainable defense industry to help the Indonesian Military (TNI), as the main user, to effectively defend the country and bolster its military prowess, inspired the government to put a huge investment in the national defense industry to upgrade the TNI's outdated armaments.
The significant development in the country's strategic environment serves as an impetus for Indonesia to further develop its defense industry. Further good signs to revitalize the defense industry included when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2010 issued a decree establishing the National Committee on Defense Industry Policy.
Policies are forward looking. They determine outcomes and requirements that can only be ascertained in light of events that have yet to occur. Indonesia has yet to encounter serious events, at least as seen by the government, that can be regarded as a threat to national security. However, Indonesia's continuous and consistent path toward making the defense industry as part of the strategic element in the country's defense planning should be perceived as policy steps in the country's preparation for war.
I remember vividly well the assessment of Maj. Gen. Sonny E.S. Prasetyo (now director general of defense strategy at the Defense Ministry) during his class session at Defense University in 2012 that the main objective for the country to acquire modern and sophisticated weapons is to prepare for war.
The statement of Purnomo seemed to be congruent with the assessment of Sonny. This suggests that peacetime defense industry products serve as a means not only to elevate the country's defense outlook but also to enhance the deterrent function of major military equipment. Wartime, if it does occur, will see the reliability and effectiveness of the country's defense industry products in sustaining the performance and endurance of the military.
The government's commitment to revitalize and mobilize the defense industry is to gear toward more self reliance on domestic products. Around 40 percent of the government's projected military spending will go to the domestic industry. But the growing interdependence in international relations due to the wave of globalization has forced countries to seek strategic partnership with more advanced countries in the realm of the defense industry. This is to say that Indonesia needs to have a "second hand" to boost its defense industry.
It is for this reason Indonesia initiated cooperation with certain countries in the area of the defense industry. The latest policy steps are an attempt by legislature to ratify the agreement between Indonesia and Turkey (signed in June 2010) on defense industry cooperation. It was during a hearing with experts that I suggested the law on the ratification of the agreement be based on the believe that Indonesia should gain more strategic benefits from the agreement. The agreement, if implemented, should therefore be gearing Indonesia to a positive sum rather than to a zero sum end.
When Purnomo said that the Committee on Defense Industry Policy (CDIP) identified the domestic defense industry's weaknesses, as reported by the Jakarta Globe on June 18 — namely insufficient capital, the lack of competition, minimal experience, limitations on research and development capability and the lack of synergy between different industries — he may be suggesting that Indonesia is still far from developing what one calls defense industrial base (DIB).
The DIB is also known as the defense industrial and technological base. To political scientists, DIB is referred to as the government's industrial assets, which may have a direct or indirect importance and contribution for the mass production of equipment for the country's armed forces. This is to say that if Indonesia can develop a reliable and viable defense industrial base, this will certainly be one of the main features in the country's defense policy and diplomacy. However, we do not know how many more years Indonesia needs to wait before it can really develop DIB. If it will be there, how prepared is the Indonesian defense industrial base to meet the growing needs of the TNI in coming decades?
Speaking on the matter of the defense industry, one remembers Malaysia's concept paper on Asean Defense Industry Collaboration (ADIC). This concept paper aims to reduce defense imports by Asean members from $25 billion per year to $12.5 billion. The fifth Asean Defense Ministerial Meeting (ADMM), held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, on May 7, 2013, adopted the paper.
The question is how can Indonesia be an important part of the ADIC if the government fails to address its domestic defense industry weaknesses. The government needs to make significant investments to develop its defense industrial bases. Only then can it play strategic role in ADIC or demonstrate its modern defense industry and the importance of defense industry in upgrading TNI's outdated armaments.
Bantarto Bandoro is a senior lecturer at the faculty of defense strategy at Defense University and founder of the Institute for Defense and Strategic Research (IDSR) in Jakarta
Posted by: "Sunny" <ambon@tele2.se>
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