Prabowo Establishes New TNI Battalions to Eradicate Illegal Mining and Logging

President Prabowo Subianto has explained that the expansion of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) strength, including the formation of new battalions, is intended to safeguard national wealth and prevent illegal practices such as illegal logging and illegal mining.

Addressing several national media leaders and community figures, the President expressed his belief that, ideally, each regency should be protected by one battalion. However, he noted that current TNI strength is unable to cover all regencies and cities, as there are still more than 360 regencies without a TNI unit presence.

“In those areas, our wealth lies; that is why for several decades, illegal logging, illegal mining, and illegal plantations have occurred,” said Prabowo, as reported by the Indonesian Government Communication Agency in Jakarta on Thursday, 17 September 2026.

President Prabowo cited examples where, due to minimal supervision in certain regions, palm oil plantations were found operating within protected forest areas. He warned that without continuous oversight, similar practices could occur in other regions without enforcement.

“Our country is very large. We have 514 regencies, and those regencies are large, not small. They are vast,” he stated.

Regarding the defence budget, which will naturally increase due to the formation of these new battalions, President Prabowo noted that Indonesia’s defence budget compared to other Southeast Asian nations remains below 2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Our budget is among the smallest in ASEAN. Even with the increases we have made, it does not reach 2 per cent of our GDP,” he said.

Furthermore, he noted that for the past several decades, Indonesia’s defence spending has hovered around 0.9 per cent of GDP. In comparison to neighbouring countries, such as Singapore, that government allocates more than 3 per cent of its GDP to defence spending.

“Therefore, in my view, our national defence and security system, which must be equitable, requires a sufficiently strong presence of defence elements,” Prabowo added.