SBY's Message: Indonesia Must Not Be Naive in Facing Potential World War
Indonesia’s sixth President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has spoken about the contemporary geopolitical situation, which he said is on the brink of potentially erupting into a world war. SBY warned that Indonesia cannot afford to be naive and assume it would be unaffected by a global conflict that could break out at any time.
SBY delivered his views during a public lecture at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) building in Central Jakarta on Monday (23/2/2026). He began by explaining how the current geopolitical landscape is inseparable from the legacy of the Cold War era.
“Next, when it comes to economic cooperation, international trade — there has indeed been a shift. The Cold War was actually bipolar, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc,” SBY said at the Lemhannas building in Central Jakarta on Monday.
SBY assessed that after the Cold War, the United States sought to become a lone ranger — a nation acting unilaterally to achieve its objectives. He also noted that the US was predicted to represent “The Triumph of Liberalism” and “The Death of Communism and Authoritarianism.”
SBY observed that the global geopolitical landscape has shifted over time. At present, he said, the world should have become multipolar.
“What does this mean? It has happened, and now we should be returning to a multipolar order — at the very least comprising the United States, China, Russia, the European Union, and several BRICS nations. We must recognise that we live in a multipolar order,” he said.
However, SBY argued that the United States does not desire this, as it wishes to remain unipolar — the sole dominant power in the world. “America wants to return to being unipolar, America alone as the global leader, global cop, as a lone ranger,” he said.
For this reason, SBY stressed the importance of Indonesia positioning itself appropriately. “But our way of thinking must be that we need to navigate and position ourselves, our steps, within the current global order, polarisation, or polarity,” he added.
Must Not Be Naive as Though Untouchable
SBY went on to warn Indonesia against being naive about the threat of world war. He cited the example of the Second World War, noting that although Indonesia was not directly involved in the conflict, it was still affected.
“Should we just focus on domestic affairs? In a world that is globalising, interconnected, and interrelated — that is impossible. Let me give you an example: during the Second World War, we were not involved, yet we became victims too,” SBY said.
SBY argued that Indonesia would merely become collateral damage if it simply stood by. “If the decisions are made by certain countries, major powers — we weren’t even part of the G20 back then — what could we do? We ended up as collateral damage, victims as well,” he added.
Furthermore, SBY cautioned against Indonesia feeling safe simply because it has no disputes with other nations. The former Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs deemed it naive to think Indonesia would remain untouched by a world war.
“We must not be naive, and we must not act as though we will not be affected. ‘We have no problems’ — don’t say that, because things are already this chaotic,” he said.
SBY therefore urged Indonesia to prepare itself — from strengthening defence capabilities and food security to building international relationships.
“So in my view, focusing domestically to prepare ourselves — yes; increasing our deterrence — yes; strengthening our defence capabilities — yes; enhancing our energy and food security, among others, which could be severely disrupted in a global crisis — yes,” SBY explained.
“Domestic efforts — yes; diplomacy and international cooperation — yes; understanding the setting of power relations — yes. By doing so, God willing, our actions will be on the right course,” he continued.
Reminder on the Importance of Air Power
In the same forum, SBY spoke about the importance of building air defence capabilities. He argued that the era of prioritising ground forces is over.
SBY said it is no longer sufficient to rely solely on coastal defence strategies, defence of major islands, guerrilla warfare, and counterattack tactics. He posed the question of what would happen if air strikes destroyed Jakarta and domestic weapons factories.
“What if an airstrike destroys Jakarta, Pindad in Bandung, PAL in Surabaya, and other cities — what do we do? Come on,” SBY said.
SBY reminded the audience that this is an era of modern warfare. He emphasised that all branches of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) must be prepared to face attacks.
“This is the modern era — modern warfare, modern technology, modern doctrine. Everyone must be ready. If it’s hybrid, then essentially there is no choosing — we must be prepared for everything. That is the bottom line,” SBY said.