Defence Minister: 2027 Defence Budget Requirement Reaches IDR 667 Trillion

Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has stated that the national defence budget requirement for 2027 amounts to IDR 667 trillion. Sjafrie said the budget formulation considers various priorities for building defence capabilities and operational needs. “This is a concept we have developed while continuously observing the scale of priorities and the dynamics of tasks assigned to the Ministry of Defence and also the Indonesian National Armed Forces as instruments of national defence,” Sjafrie said following a closed-door meeting with House of Representatives Commission I at the parliament complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday, 10 June 2026. However, the defence sector budget allocated by the Ministry of Finance and the National Development Planning Agency stands at only IDR 139 trillion. Considering the gap between the requirement and the indicative ceiling provided, the Ministry of Defence has consequently requested a budget increase through Commission I, its working partner. “Therefore, we have proposed an additional budget through Commission I of the House of Representatives to be forwarded to the Budget Committee so that we can increase the budget by IDR 195 trillion,” said the former Commander of the Jayakarta Military Regional Command. Sjafrie claimed the additional budget is necessary to safeguard the country’s sovereignty. For him, the national defence system serves as a “safety belt” for the continuity of national development. Furthermore, Sjafrie said the additional budget represents preparation for facing the dynamics and load of tasks for the Indonesian Armed Forces in supporting government duties as mandated by the Armed Forces Law. “Besides the duties of the national defence system, examples include matters relating to the centre of gravity, both in Papua and in several other locations. This requires capability building,” Sjafrie stated. Sjafrie emphasised that the Armed Forces also carry out a number of military operations other than war which require budgetary support. Examples include infrastructure development in the regions and natural disaster management. “Also our dynamic tasks to support the government in developing facilities and infrastructure that we know have been damaged due to natural disasters. So now the Armed Forces are also undertaking the task of building bridges and so forth,” Sjafrie said.