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resident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono can pride himself on his work to modernize the Indonesian Military (TNI), which will form an important part of his legacy when he leaves office in 2014.

Over the past few years, his administration has been spent big on upgrading the TNI’s obsolete and worn-out equipment. The upgrades will peak next year if the House of Representatives approves the government’s proposed defense budget of Rp 77.7 trillion (US$8.1 billion).

In fact, the Defense Ministry tops the list of government big spenders, according to the 2013 draft budget that the President unveiled during a House plenary session on Aug. 16. The budget allocation for defense exceeds the money earmarked for the Public Works Ministry and the Education and Culture Ministry for a start. It is also more than double the amount that the government will spend on healthcare. Lawmakers have had no qualms about the defense budget; they are even ready to increase the allocation by Rp 10 trillion if necessary.

The reasoning behind the military shopping spree is well understood. Indonesia has only about 450,000 troops to protect the archipelago, its rich natural resources and a population of 238 million people. The problem plaguing the TNI is not only restricted to a limited numbers of troops. It is also the substandard quality of the weapon systems that the troops must use to uphold national sovereignty and to provide an effective deterrent.

With many of the Navy’s warships and patrol boats not seaworthy, the country loses Rp 20 trillion annually due rampant illegal fishing. Our air defenses are similarly unable to prevent foreign jets from encroaching our skies.

The state’s mandate, as stipulated in the preamble of the Constitution, to protect all the people of Indonesia and the entirety of the nation’s land and waters remains far from being achieved.

Applying Morgenthau’s postulate that military preparedness measures (in part) national power, Indonesia must be placed among the nations that are unable to pursue their interests, or worse, might fall prey to other nations’ influence or greed.

Indonesia may even fall behind impoverished North Korea, whose nuclear arsenal has given a superpower like the US reason to pause.

Yudhoyono, himself a retired Army general, has worked to provide the TNI with a minimum essential force, especially after he took office for a second time in 2009. New equipment for the three services has marked his final term, most notably the procurement of 100 Leopard main battle tanks and obtaining another squadron of Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets.

The US has also recently offered to grant Indonesia another 24 second-hand F-16s and sell it air-to-surface missiles worth $25 million to arm the Lockheed Martin-made fighter jets, suggesting Washington’s intention to involve Jakarta in maintaining regional security in Asia and Pacific will trump allegations of human rights that have hounded the TNI in the past.

Others, however, question whether Indonesia needs a military build-up while the country is still struggling to eradicate poverty, create jobs and provide easy access to education and healthcare for all, as well as struggling to develop poor infrastructure that has isolated those in the remote regions. Indonesia is not facing any clear and present threats from outside, thanks in part to Yudhoyono’s policy of a “million friends and zero enemies”.

At the end of the day, transparency on the procurement of weapons and the goals the policymakers want to achieve from defense shopping is what matters most. Unfortunately consultation with the public, including civil society organizations, has never been deemed part of defense policy.