Unique functions of defense institutes

By Juwono Sudarsono

A unique workshop on the role of national defense institutes was held at the National Resilience Institute on June 20 to June 21. Jointly sponsored by the institute and The Asia Foundation, the workshop explored in general terms many issues pertaining to security -- broadly defined -- in the Asia-Pacific region.

JAKARTA (JP): In his keynote address, Indonesia's Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudrajat outlined Indonesia's defense posture which in essence rested on the twin doctrines of the archipelagic outlook and national resilience. He emphasized that both doctrines complemented the current vogue for "cooperative engagement", one of the current buzzwords in the security studies community throughout the region.

The June 20 to June 21 workshop at the institute broke no new ground in terms of concepts. Nevertheless, since the participants constituted civilian officials as well as uniformed active officers, there were new perspectives gained. One of these was the need for a more active participation of business and military circles to be engaged in dialog with one another.

In their enthusiasm for enhancing economic and business interaction within the Asia Pacific Economic Council and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, for example, public and private officials often take for granted the political and security environment. Projections and projects were instituted with scant regard for the medium and long-term prospects of the changed security environment. Oil companies staking their claim in disputed areas, for example, very seldom bother to consult political or military leaders.

To a lesser extent, military officers in turn tend to discount the changing economic and business environment. Their focus on deployment, logistics, inter-operational ability and overall force structure needs to be complemented with considerations of the economic and political dimensions.

The ASEAN Regional Forum, launched in Bangkok last year, is regarded as useful in providing the beginnings of region-wide dialog. But only provided that it operates in ambiguity, waiting for, rather than initiating, developments to unfold.

National defense institutes have distinct advantages in tying in the three strands of Asia-Pacific-wide cooperation: political, economic and security. In the post Cold War era, new concepts incorporating these three strands must become important aspects of security planning broadly defined.

A strong focus on the links between levels of economic development with sensitive security issues would be a good start for curriculum building at these institutes.

The case of China's future energy needs, for example, would have to consider the fact that while it has 24 percent of the world's population, China has access to only two percent of the world's proven oil and gas reserves; those statistics only explain Beijing's studied refusal in respect to involvement in multilateral dialog over the Spratlys.

Understanding China's dilemmas is as important as being firm to leaders in Beijing (given the recent spat with the United States over the visit of the president of Chinese Taiwan to the United States, China did not send its national defense university representatives to the Jakarta meeting).

National defense institutes have an important function in advocating the concept of defense and security in the wider sense; territorial as well as functional. In Asia and the Pacific, where interdependence is intense, the institutes would do well to pioneer meetings involving businessmen, academics as well as active military officers. War, it has been said, is too important a matter to be left to the generals. Equally important, peace and development are too important to be left to the politicians and businessmen.

A follow up workshop, with a more specific agenda and ideally co-sponsored by the business communities of the region, would be an ideal way to work on the pioneering workshop recently held in Jakarta.

Juwono Sudarsono is vice governor of the National Resilience Institute, Jakarta.