“Stay safe on your mission to maintain world peace, My Garuda.”

Those are the words that Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi wrote on a ceremonial placard on a morale-boosting visit to the 100 Indonesian peacekeepers currently serving in the Maritime Task Force (MTF) of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

On Sunday, Retno finally made good on a long-delayed plan to visit the Indonesian peacekeepers, Garuda Contingent (Konga) XXVIII-J, in UNIFIL, starting with an inspection of the KRI Usman Harun-359 currently docked at Beirut.

Indonesia’s first MTF contingent was in 2009.

It was the first time in a decade that an Indonesian foreign minister had gone to Lebanon to visit the UNIFIL mission.

Retno was greeted on deck by the Indonesian MTF chief Col. Alan Dahlan, who ran a wide-ranging showcase of his multitalented crew, beginning with Indonesian cuisine to traditional dance and martial arts performances.

In her speech to the crew members, Retno heaped much praise on Indonesian peacekeepers in UNIFIL, Indonesia’s largest mission with 1,280 active personnel, which include both military and civil elements.

Indonesia has deployed a total of 37,000 peacekeeping troops to conflict areas around the world.

She also emphasized the importance of countries contributing to world peace, no matter how big or small they are.

“If small countries are able to contribute, then there’s more that bigger countries like us can do,” she said. “Commitment and contribution are two keywords for a country like Indonesia to always keep in mind in order to maintain world peace.”

By leveraging its commitment in and ongoing contribution to international peacekeeping operations, Retno said Indonesia would seek to join the UN Security Council (UNSC) for a fourth time.

Jakarta is mounting a campaign for a nonpermanent seat on the UNSC for the 2019–2020 period, for which voting will commence this July. Indonesia previously served during 1974–1975, 1995–1996 and 2007–2008.

From the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia will have to go up against the Maldives, which is currently undergoing a political crisis.

During the ship inspection, Retno was briefed on the task of the Indonesian MTF, which comprises maritime interdiction operations and training of the Lebanese Armed Forces.

For the former, the Usman Harun patrols Lebanese waters to prevent illegal trafficking of goods in and out of the country, while the latter is to ensure that the Lebanese Navy will become more capable of securing its own waters, Alan said.

Currently, the Lebanese Navy only use smaller patrol boats to safeguard their territory.

The Usman Harun, one of the Navy’s three UK-made corvettes, is part of Jakarta’s pledge to the UNIFIL mission in addition to ground troops.

The naming of the warship in 2014, in honor of national heroes Usman and Harun, stirred controversy in neighboring Singapore. The two Marines were executed in 1968 for infiltrating the city-state during the confrontation against then newly created Malaysia.

To avoid tensions, the Usman Harun avoided sailing through the Singapore Strait on its way from Jakarta to Belawan, North Sumatra, one of the few ports of call before arriving in Beirut, Alan said.

Retno is set to visit Konga XXIII-L, also known as the Indonesian Battalion (Indobatt), on Monday.

The first Indonesian peacekeepers were deployed to UNIFIL in 2006, Konga XXIII-A.

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