Indonesia is one step closer to having its military cooperation, particularly the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus), with the United States. Signs of improving ties in military affairs have made headlines in the national media – both in the United States and at home – in the past weeks.
Washington waived an arms embargo on Jakarta in 2005-2006, but it continues to ban the Kopassus from receiving military training and financing from the US government on the basis the Indonesian elite military unit is responsible for past atrocities in Papua, Aceh, East Timor and Jakarta. The ban on the Kopassus was imposed in 1997.
The first signal of a possible resumption of US-Indonesia military cooperation came from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who told US lawmakers late last month the US wanted more counterterrorism and military cooperation with Indonesia. The second came from former Indonesian defense minister Juwono Sudarsono, who said earlier this month that Washington was close to lifting a ban on training the Kopassus, with the ban’s main sponsor, Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy, “accepting” Jakarta’s progress in investigating military officers accused of rights abuses.
Signs of a stronger bilateral military relationship have continued ahead of US President Barack Obama’s planned visit to Indonesia next Tuesday.
Obama is expected to sign the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement, which among others, regulates bilateral cooperation on political, security and economic affairs.
What will a restored military relationship with the US mean for Indonesia – particularly the Indonesian Military (TNI)?
To have full bilateral military cooperation restored is indeed good news for the Kopassus – and the Indonesian Military in general – as it would mean a lot for the sustainability of Indonesia’s military equipment and capability. It has become a public secret that a majority of TNI equipment is made in the US and the US ban has nearly crippled the Indonesian military, which has had to procure arms from the black market and from a limited number of friendly countries – thus making our military expenditure more costly.
Such a prolonged ban has also forced Indonesia to turn to other countries for the procurement of new military arms and equipment, with the ongoing procurement of a planned squadron of Russian-made Sukhoi jetfighters as an example. However, our dependence on US-made military equipment remains high as the purchase of the Russian aircraft constitutes only a small percentage of the TNI’s overall military spending.
The restored bilateral military relationship should therefore be fully welcomed at home. With the passage of time, we have to put the past behind us as the Kopassus is already run and staffed by a new generation untainted by past atrocities. As the Kopassus is still the most formidable force in our military, we cannot exclude it forever.
The ugly past will continue to haunt the elite military unit for as long as those responsible remain free and go unpunished, but this should not be used to deny the current unit from developing and growing and restoring its reputation as a strong force – without the abuses and atrocities of its past.
As it becomes clear that current Kopassus leaders are unlikely to allow their seniors be prosecuted, we have to make sure that there will be no abuses from now on and that violations in the future will be prosecuted.
