Prabowo Strengthens Indonesian Defence Assets Amid Global Uncertainty

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto intends to continuously strengthen Indonesia’s defence capabilities amidst current global geopolitical uncertainties. He stated that the defence sector is a primary requirement for maintaining national stability.

“We see that the global geopolitical condition is full of uncertainty, and we know that defence is a prerequisite for stability,” Prabowo said at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, Jakarta, on Monday.

Prabowo emphasised that he will always work to increase Indonesia’s defence strength, stating that this is solely for the purpose of protecting the sovereign territory of the Republic of Indonesia. He cited as an example the recent handover of several new defence assets to the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), which include six units of Rafale multirole combat aircraft (MRCA), four Falcon 8X transport aircraft, and one Airbus A400M MRTT aircraft.

“In the future, we will continue to build our strength. We want to secure our airspace, our maritime territory, and certainly our land territory,” he added.

At the same time, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa mentioned that a substantial budget has been prepared for the defence sector, particularly given today’s global uncertainty. However, he declined to disclose the specific details of the budget allocated for strengthening Indonesia’s defence.

“Next year, we will also allocate a significant amount. But if you ask for the exact figure, it is confidential,” said Purbaya.

Conflicts continue to erupt in various regions across the globe. War has broken out in Europe following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine since 2022. Furthermore, Israel continues its military invasion of the Gaza Strip in Palestine, and more recently, joint Israeli-US military operations launched attacks on Iranian territory.