I

ndonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Agus Suhartono had a tough choice on Tuesday: attend the Air Force’s 67th anniversary celebration or join an Army gathering with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Agus, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, chose the Army function, as did Vice President Boediono and several other Cabinet ministers and high-ranking officials.

Politics may have apparently trumped esprit de corps: The function Agus chose to attend appeared related to the presidential aspirations of Army chief Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo in the 2014 presidential election.

The Army event began with the President, himself a retired Army general, joining a mass morning exercise session at National Monument Park in Central Jakarta.

Yuudhoyono then moved to the Army headquarters on nearby Jl. Veteran, where he gave a speech to thousands of soldiers.

The President’s entourage, comprising in part Boediono, Agus, and National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo, followed, and Agus had to skip the Air Force event.

Meanwhile, the celebration at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta was subdued. Precision flying by the Air Force’s top squadrons and skydiving by paratroops were witnessed by a relatively small crowd that included Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Air Marshall (ret.) Djoko Suyanto and National Police deputy chief Insp. Gen. Nanan Sukarna.

The Air Force’s Jupiter Aerobatics Team and Team Dynamic Pegasus, presented maneuvers they called a “dance in the air”, which were seen by only a few outside the immediate vicinity of the base.

A speech that Agus was slated to deliver at the Air Force event was read by Air Force chief Air Marshall Ida Bagus Putu Dunia before hundreds of Air Force members.

Yudhoyono preference to join the Army’s morning exercises on the Air Force anniversary was an effective snub, leading observers to say that he might be backing Pramono, the brother of First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, as a presidential candidate in 2014.

Others have said that Yudhoyono has wanted to nominate a relative for president after he steps down in 2014 to protect him from possible political complications in the future.

Yudhoyono also earlier suggested that he would prefer a non-military candidate to run for president in 2014.

Pramono, however, denied that the event was politically-motivated. “We had planned for a gathering with President since 2012. But we could only do it today because of the President’s busy schedule,” he said.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha also shrugged off a political connection.

“This is a regular sports event done by the President with military members. This time, it involved 2,100 military personnel,” Julian said.