Once he was elected, however, Jokowi failed to act on his campaign promise, at least symbolically, when in 2015 he appointed then-Indonesian Army chief of staff Gatot Nurmantyo instead of a Navy officer as the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief. Two years later, Jokowi picked his close confidant Indonesian Air Force Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto as the new TNI commander, depriving the Navy of yet another chance to lead the TNI and realize the President’s maritime vision.

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic nation with 17,508 islands, only 6,000 of which are inhabited. Schoolchildren are taught to sing “Nenek Moyangku” to raise "their awareness of and appreciation for the country’s rich marine resources”. Only when they grow up will they realize that the country’s naval force does not live up to its billing and is too small to protect the sizeable treasure.

Schoolchildren in the Natuna Islands are supposed to learn the song by heart, but they may not feel its proud spirit after seeing local fishers scared away by “sea monsters” armed with sophisticated equipment, and which also enjoy the protection of the coast guard in some cases.

The country has been beleaguered by rampant illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, its Navy often intercepting foreign vessels poaching in territorial waters. But to protect the country’s vast sea territory and sovereign rights, the Indonesian Navy needs to upgrade its capabilities significantly. Unfortunately, most of the national defense budget is allocated for the Army.

The reform movement has done little to change our national defense mindset, as evident in the fact that the Navy and the Air Force are both much smaller than the Army, just as they were during the New Order.

Now that TNI chief Hadi is to retire soon, the moment could not have come at a better time for the President to prove his commitment to realizing his maritime vision by appointing a Navy admiral as Hadi’s successor. The rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific with the launch of the AUKUS trilateral alliance should be added impetus for Jokowi to entrust the TNI command to a Navy officer, a bold decision only former presidents Abdurrahman Wahid and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono have made.

Army chief of staff Gen. Andika Perkasa and Navy chief of staff Adm. Yudo Margono have been widely tipped as the contenders for the top military post, with the latter having the upper hand because of his longer service.

We urge Jokowi to exercise his constitutional prerogative to walk his talk of restoring the nation’s maritime might. “Nenek Moyangku” is no mere children’s song if it has the power to influence the President, but a veritable maritime anthem.

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