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Maritime axis vision under new TNI chief
Jokowi seems to seek a different approach in boosting his dormant vision of Indonesia as a global maritime axis.
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Air Chief Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto (Presidential Office/-)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo installed Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto as the new Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander on Friday to replace Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, who is retiring from military service next March.
Hadi, whose nomination as the President’s sole choice for the post secured unanimous support from the House of Representatives on Thursday, is the second air chief marshal to lead the TNI after Djoko Suyanto in 20062007.
Hadi’s rise to the top TNI post highlights at least three insights into the current state of Jokowi’s political movement.
First, Jokowi finally followed the convention of rotating the job among the three armed forces. In 2015, Jokowi ignored the tradition by nominating Gatot, the then Army chief, as TNI Commander to replace Gen. Moeldoko, also a former Army chief.
Second, the choice of Hadi confirms Jokowi’s preference for a person he knows in a strategic post. Hadi served as chief of Surakarta’s Adi Soemarmo Air Base in 2010-2011, when Jokowi was the mayor of the Central Java sultanate city. When Jokowi assumed the presidency in October 2014, he named Hadi his military secretary.
In other words, trustworthiness counts for Jokowi in selecting a TNI chief, particularly when Indonesia is bracing for the upcoming political years. Under normal circumstances, Hadi will retire in November 2021.
Third, Jokowi seems to seek a different approach in boosting his dormant vision of Indonesia as a global maritime axis. He tends to maintain the maritime issue as a complex one so that all national elements, including its full range of military services, are required to tackle the maritime challenges. If Jokowi had adopted a narrow perspective on the maritime domain, he would have proposed the Navy chief of staff as TNI chief.
