Prabowo explains new battalions formed to protect national wealth

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto has explained that the expansion of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) strength, including the formation of new battalions, is aimed at protecting national wealth and preventing 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 military unit presence.

“After all, our wealth is located there; that is why for several decades, illegal logging, illegal mining, and illegal plantations have occurred,” said President Prabowo, as reported by the Indonesian Government Communication Agency in Jakarta on Thursday.

During the meeting, which took place at the President’s private residence in Hambalang, Bogor Regency, West Java, last week, President Prabowo cited examples of palm oil plantations found operating in protected forest areas due to minimal supervision in certain regions. He warned that without continuous oversight, similar practices could occur in other areas without enforcement.

“Our country is very large. We have 514 regencies, and those regencies are large, not small. Regencies are vast,” the President 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,” said the President.

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 defence and security system, which must be equitable, requires a sufficiently strong presence of defence elements,” the President added.