Toward Indonesia as Global Maritime Fulcrum: Correcting Doctrine and Combating Non-Traditional Maritime Threats

Abstract

Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country in the world and has enormous potentialin the maritime sector. Therefore, President Joko Widodo aimed to turn Indonesia into amaritime fulcrum of the world. However, this idea hampered by doctrinal errors rootedfrom the community level to policymakers, including the doctrine of state defense. Theseerrors rendered Indonesia unable to play an important role using its strategic location asthe largest archipelagic country. Furthermore, piracy culture in some coastal communitiesof Indonesia is also a problem that hinders international trade. Moreover, this conditionis further exacerbated by the threat of maritime terrorism that endangered Indonesianseafarers. This paper uses the theoretical foundation by Alfred Thayer Mahan on Sea Powerto analyze what kind of policies should be taken by the government to solve the maritimesecurity holes in order to actualize the idea of Indonesia as the maritime fulcrum of theworld. Mahen stated that to become a powerful country in the world, a country should havecontrol over the oceans. Through this theory, solving maritime security holes in Indonesiacan be conducted by accumulating the strength of the sea in quantity and quality.

Critical Analysis of Indonesia's Global Maritime Fulcrum under Joko Widodo: Problems and Challenges

“…Among them are from political science, public policy to international relations. Several previous studies that analyzed GMF consisted of 3 significant studies, namely security studies (Agastia & Perwita, 2018;Al Syahrin, 2018 Putra, 2017;Nugraha & Sudirman, 2016), international cooperation (Nainggolan, 2016;Pradhan, 2016;Quirk & Bradford, 2015;Sriyanto, 2018), regional and geopolitics (Ali & Sulistiyono, 2020;Andika, 2017;Aufiya, 2017;Yani & Montratama, 2018).…”

“…This phenomenon is assessed as a form of vulnerability from the security aspect, but the economic loss is tremendous (Al Syahrin, 2018). According to Hudaya & Putra (2017), one of the reasons this threat is still ongoing is the error of several doctrines that have developed at the community level to the level of policymakers, including the doctrine of national defence. Especially the strong culture of piracy in Indonesian coastal communities.…”

“…Especially the strong culture of piracy in Indonesian coastal communities. Through the Sea Power theory from Alfred Thayer Mahan, Hudaya & Putra (2017) argue that resolving maritime security gaps in Indonesia must be done by accumulating maritime power in quality and quantity. Ultimately, to achieve the ambitions of the World Maritime Axis, Indonesia needs to seriously consider the physical aspects of maritime development and develop maritime awareness and doctrine for its regional ambitions (Agastia & Perwita, 2018).…”

Indonesia Grapples with the Indo-Pacific: Outreach, Strategic Discourse, and Diplomacy

“…Djalal’s presentation there was stark, since Indonesia “controls several important sea lanes for the communications between the Pacific and the Indian Ocean and between the mainland Asia and Australia” but that “Indonesia requires an enormous amount of law enforcement as well as defense capabilities at sea. It has been estimated that it requires more than 370 vessels […] Yet, so far, it has only about 115 vessels” (Djalal, 2011; also Hudaya and Putra, 2017). This question of naval assets points to President’s Widodo’s maritime fulcrum concept, part of the official strategic discourse that has focused onto the Indo-Pacific since 2013.…”

Konsep, Strategi, dan Realita Poros Maritim Dunia: Sebuah Resensi Buku

“…Penulis sendiri telah menjabarkan mengenai Illegal, Unreported, Unreported (IUU) Fishing yang mengancam pilar Pengelolaan Sumber Daya Laut, akan tetapi masih ada ancaman-ancaman non-tradisional lain yang menghantui laut Indonesia. Perompakan dan terorisme maritim tergolong masih marak terjadi di perairan kita di mana perairan Selat Malaka di dekat Kepulauan Riau dan Perairan di dekat perbatasan dengan Filipina menjadi hotspot terjadinya kedua ancaman non-tradisional tersebut (Hudaya & Putra, 2017). Oleh karena itu, pembangunan dan modernisasi Angkatan Laut dengan visi menjadi World Class Navy pada 2024 serta adanya sinergi dengan otoritas keamanan laut lain seperti Kepolisian, Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan, dan Badan Keamanan Laut sangat diperlukan untuk menciptakan situasi kondusif untuk dapat mewujudkan pilar-pilar PMD yang lain.…”