The enduring strategic trinity: explaining Indonesia's geopolitical architecture

Abstract

This paper seeks to describe and assess the geopolitical architecture of Indonesia as the largest archipelagic state in the world. It makes two main inter-related arguments. First, Indonesia's geographical traits suggest that it could be both a source of weakness and vulnerability as much as it brings enormous potential for political, economic, and even military power. Second, the historical origins and conceptual foundations of ‘geopolitics’ as a policy theme suggest that Indonesia's geopolitical architecture is based on three building blocks – the ‘strategic trinity’: geostrategy (the military and security dimensions), geoeconomics (the resource and economic dimensions), and geopolitics (the social and political dimensions). While these arguments are not novel in themselves, this paper represents among the first attempts to systematically analyse and assess Indonesia's geographical traits and how they shape the country's strategic thinking, foreign policy, and national security system. The paper will also consider how Indonesia's geopolitical architecture could help explain the country's resurgent interest in the Indian Ocean Region in recent years.

Keywords:

• archipelagic state
• strategic trinity
• geostrategy
• geoeconomics
• geopolitics

Notes

1. These leaders were from the Preparatory Committee for the Independence of Indonesia (PPKI). Some of their writings and speeches can be found in Feith and Castle (1970)

2. In preparing for the 17 August 1945 Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers did not seriously consider the issues surrounding the future country's territorial border. And between 1949 and 1950, none of the decrees and government regulations issued was maritime or sea-related. For details surrounding this period, see Jones (1964), Penders (1979), and Djalal (1996)

3. While the level of Dutch forces could be seen as relatively low, General Nasution, then head of the Army, believed that the presence of open seas within Indonesia's territory could allow Holland to send in more military assets, and eventually ‘attack our air base in Bandung, Naval base in Surabaya, and our capital’ (cited in Pauker 1963, p. 287). The Cabinet also had strong suspicions that the United States has been complicit in or supporting the country's regional rebellions (Kahin and Kahin 1997)

4. Throughout this paper, the term ‘Archipelagic Outlook’, ‘Archipelagic Doctrine’, ‘Archipelagic State Concept’ and ‘Archipelagic Concept’ refers to the same fundamental outlook or thinking that considers Indonesia as a unified geographical (maritime and land), political, security, economic, and social entity. Specific policy expressions of this concept will be further noted throughout the paper

5. Some of the historical details of Indonesia's journey throughout UNCLOS to fight for the Archipelagic Doctrine can be found in Butcher (2009).

6. The criteria are narrowly defined as ‘navigations with peaceful purposes through the territorial sea and internal waters: (1) from the high sea to Indonesian ports, and vice versa, (2) from on high sea to another high sea’. It also necessitates military vessels and non-commercial government ships to give prior notification to the naval chief before entering Indonesian waters. See Djalal (1996, p. 52–53)

7. The PKI was decimated and its follower arrested or killed after they were allegedly orchestrating an attempted coup. For the details surrounding the coup, the destruction of the PKI, and the subsequent rise of the Armed Forces to dominate Indonesia's political system, see Crouch (1988), and Roosa (2006).

8. The Indonesian Armed Forces or ABRI would later change its name to Indonesian National Defence Forces or TNI in 1999 following the separation of the National Police from the institution.

9. While many of these contracts were awarded in the late 1960s, given the long-term value of the arrangements, it was only recently in the past 10 years or so that the government is re-negotiating some of them with major oil companies. This is why some if not most of these blocks still stand

10. Marine management and enforcement is currently spread across 12 different government agencies under the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Security Coordinating Board, and the National Police

11. The Japanese invaded and occupied it during World War II; the Dutch colonised it for over three centuries and continued to briefly control West Guinea; the British assisted Holland's attempt to re-colonise it after Japan's defeat; the Soviets were seen to play a role in the abortive 1948 communist revolt; the Americans were supporting regional rebels in Sumatera and Celebes; and the Chinese was seen to be behind the 1965 alleged coup. Details of these bitter encounters between Indonesia and the major powers can be seen in Kahin and Kahin (1997), Mortimer (1976), and McMillan (2005)¹³ Numerous policy papers and documents produced in the past ten years by the Ministry of Defence, Military Headquarters, and the National Resilience Institute, which the author studied, all cited the thoughts and works of Clausewitz, Mahan, MacKinder, Spykman, and other Western thinkers. The Indonesian Navy even specifically cited two academic works by the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School as the basis to formulate their doctrine.