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resident Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has told the Indonesian Military (TNI) to improve its professionalism, and to stay clear of any form of political involvement.

'€œ[The TNI] should not get involved in politics ['€¦] the TNI should march in step with state policy because what the state does is for the people'€™s interest,'€ President Jokowi said during the opening of an executive meeting at the TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta on Wednesday.

Jokowi added that the chain of command should be maintained: The military must be loyal to the highest commander, which is the President.

He said that all countries were competing to improve their defense capabilities, as was Indonesia. Indonesia should build a strong defensive posture with the TNI, by completing its weapons system procurement and the modernization of its technology.

'€œWe also have to achieve independence from imported [defense products] through our defense industry,'€ Jokowi said.

Besides talking about defense issues, Jokowi also discussed the future economic situation of Indonesia.

The president said that Indonesia had faced a challenge after the end of the Cold War and this should now be adjusted.

He said the core challenge facing Indonesia was poverty.

'€œThis is our task,'€ he said.

According to Jokowi the coming wave of free trade will lead to changes in all countries and Indonesia should be alert.

'€œThere is no other word for it. If we still use the old patterns, old traditions, we will be defeated and disappear,'€ Jokowi said.

On Wednesday, the TNI held the first day of its executive meeting, which will be attended by 182 senior officers from all across Indonesia. The three-day meeting will discuss the plans, obstacles and possible threats in 2016, as well as to evaluate the 2015 targets.

During the opening of the meeting, TNI commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said the changes in the current strategic situation would create new challenges in the future for the TNI.

For instance, the scarcity of the planet'€™s natural resources would be a serious issue and all countries would strengthen their defense strategies, especially in countries that had bountiful natural resources.

'€œWe'€™ve also seen that other issues like human rights, democratization, the environment, terrorism, transnational crime, the refugee crisis are still ongoing, while internally, we still face armed separatism, [religious and ethnic] conflicts, and other countrywide problems that cannot be avoided by the TNI as the foremost tool of national defense,'€ Gatot said.

According to Gatot, the TNI should respond to those issues and threats by creating innovative programs, which should be smart, wise, strategic and accurate.

Next year, the TNI is planning to focus on three core programs; improving the welfare of personnel, maintaining weapons and non-weapons systems and improving education and training for personnel in order to meet the targets on TNI professionalism.

He said the meeting aimed to open communications among senior commanders to provide details on problems in the field related to military and non military operations, and to approve issues for the next meeting.
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