Academic: No Automatic Right of Peaceful Passage for Foreign Military Aircraft

Air sovereignty is a fundamental principle in international law that cannot be compromised. Jakarta (ANTARA) - International relations academic Professor Connie Rahakundini Bakrie has stressed that there is no automatic right of peaceful passage for foreign military aircraft, and any access must be granted through explicit permission from the sovereign state. “Air sovereignty is a fundamental principle in international law that cannot be negotiated, especially amid discussions on military access cooperation by the Ministry of Defence (Kemenhan),” said Prof. Connie during a public discussion in Jakarta on Wednesday, as quoted from a written statement. She referred to the 1944 Chicago Convention, which states that every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory. In the doctrine of international air law, she said, the main principle is firmly embedded in the Convention on International Civil Aviation or the Chicago Convention. It is stated that Article 1 of the convention affirms that every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory, thus differing from the sea, which recognises the principle of mare liberum (open), whereas airspace is closed. The threats referred to include opening opportunities for foreign aircraft to conduct routine intelligence gathering in Indonesian territory and enabling the mapping of defence installations and strategic infrastructure. Furthermore, she continued, other threats include increased risks of security disruptions to national military operations, including in emergency situations. Therefore, she assessed that such practices could gradually erode the air sovereignty guaranteed in the Chicago Convention. “This is not merely defence cooperation. It could become a form of covert strategic control,” she stated. For this reason, she said Indonesia may cooperate as long as it does not sacrifice the principle of sovereignty, because sovereignty and national dignity are not comparable to any form of security assistance. In addition, Connie also mentioned the concept she developed, namely “Rahakundinism”, where this approach firmly rejects the logic of unilateral access granting that has the potential to weaken state sovereignty. “Air sovereignty must be safeguarded through strict oversight, equal multilateral cooperation, and rejection of unilateral access,” said Connie emphatically. Previously, Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and TNI retirees discussed the Letter of Intent (LoI) or statement of intent regarding air passage permission requested by the United States. The discussion took place when Sjafrie gathered retirees, most of whom were former TNI Commanders and chiefs of staff, at the Ministry of Defence office in Central Jakarta on Friday (24/4). Head of the Defence Information Bureau (Karo Infohan) of the Secretariat General of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence, Brigadier General TNI Rico Ricardo Sirait, explained that in the meeting, the retirees provided analysis and advice regarding the LoI submitted by the US. Various analyses were given based on considerations of national defence interests. However, Rico did not explain in detail the analyses provided by the retirees to Sjafrie and TNI officials. Rico assured that all suggestions, criticisms, and analyses given by the retirees will be one of the considerations for the government in determining future strategic steps.