One hundred days into President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo'€™s administration, the upper echelons of the Defense Ministry have launched certain policy lines that are worrying for our budding democracy.

The architects of these policies have not only misread the amended 1945 Constitution, which is considered a new social contract between the people and the state on how to organize the state and society since the beginning of the Reform Era in 1998, but also ignored the strategic imperatives in East Asia, which have changed in the last 20 years.

First, the principles of democracy, for which Indonesians have been striving since independence in 1945, have been ignored and sometimes abandoned, for instance, the principle of democratic control of the Indonesian Military (TNI). When martial law was proclaimed in 1957, Sukarno and the military took power, which was then maintained and extended by president Soeharto.

As an excuse, Soeharto used the '€œdual role of the armed forces'€ concept. It was acceptable then as the first generation of TNI was regarded as '€œfreedom fighters'€, whose rank and file came from all walks of life, representing the people. But the later generations were no longer freedom fighters, since they came from the military academies and were not representative of various groups in society. They lacked the legitimacy to have a direct political role.

I have had experience working with the military for over 30 years, because in 1965 it was preferable to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). But its ability to run a government was limited as shown by its failure to manage businesses since 1958 and miserable failure to manage state and societal affairs. Thailand, South Korea, Greece and many Latin American countries provide further evidence for the failure of military rule.

So, giving back the power of the military to manage Indonesian society through the old strategy of the '€œpeople'€™s warfare'€ is no longer valid. This includes the TNI concept '€œto return to the village'€ to manage security and politics again. The National Police should be in charge of law and order as mandated by the Constitution and the security laws. Whenever they are found corrupt or inept, improvements should be called for, among others by having a minister to oversee them. It is about time to put back the police under one ministry, not under the president as is the case now. In emergencies, the military can support the police at the request of the police or the government.

In Indonesia, the military no longer has legitimacy to intervene in politics directly. Firstly, it is limited in its capabilities to run a state that has become so complex and is changing very fast.

Secondly, because it has to take care of Indonesia'€™s external security in East Asia, since strategic changes in the last 20 years put that onus on their shoulders.

Strategic changes have taken place in East Asia primarily because of China'€™s rise, but also because of the rise of the region as a whole.

This makes the region the most important in the world economically, and partially responsible for the world'€™s welfare. East Asia'€™s rise has given the region the responsibility to manage peace and development.

For that a new equilibrium has to emerge in East Asia between the two superpowers, the US and China, and also between Japan and China, and between China and India. Equilibrium does not only mean a certain balance in military power but also in political stability, economic growth and cultural influence.

 In addition, the medium powers such as Indonesia, especially as part of ASEAN, have to play the role of interlocutor between the great powers to create that equilibrium.

Those powers should take the initiative to establish a soft security community in East Asia through collaborative and comprehensive security efforts.

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"It is about time to put the police back under one ministry, not under the president as is the case now.

This is where the East Asian Summit (EAS), as the only summit in East Asia for strategic issues, can become the most important regional institution. For that to happen ASEAN should get its act together, and make EAS a truly effective institution by giving it the instruments to decide and do something for peace and development in the region.

So far ASEAN has been instrumental in creating regional institutions where confidence building measures, preventative diplomacy and conflict resolution can become realities. Indonesia, for one, needs a security policy and a military that can play a role in creating a new equilibrium that contributes to peace and development in the region.

Therefore it is imperative to have an outward-looking security policy and an able military to support the policy and the corresponding regional institutions.

Finally, we should take pride that the TNI has become a well-respected and accepted entity in Indonesian society, as that it has disengaged from domestic politics entirely. That must be maintained.

For strategic reasons, Indonesia should have a forward- and outward-looking strategy, where the military has the capacity to defend the country from external threats.

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The writer is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at the CSIS Foundation and author of Shades of Grey.

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