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Polish Armed Forces linking history and future. Cooperation with Indonesia
Every year on August, 15 Poland celebrates the Day of the Polish Armed Forces.
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LG Rajmund Andrzejczak, Chief of the Polish General Staff and MG Rizerius Eko HS Dirgen for Defence Strategy after signing the Technical Agreement, May 2019.
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very year on August, 15 Poland celebrates the Day of the Polish Armed Forces. This occasion provides an opportunity to reflect on the prowess, sacrifice and glory of the Polish military and its soldiers - proved through the service for the country and the nation over the millennium of the Polish history. This tradition of Polish Military encompasses the stories of the medieval knights fighting against the aggressors from the neighborhood, as well as the winged hussars, an elite cavalry unit which in the defense of the unity and independence of Poland wreaked havoc on battlegrounds of Central and Eastern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. It also embraces the soldiers who by winning the Battle of Warsaw in 1920 saved Europe from the Bolshevik Communist invasion. The tradition is also connected with Polish Underground Army, and soldiers fighting against the Nazi Germans during the Warsaw Uprising, 1944. It is also opportunity to commemorate individual soldiers, such as cavalry captain Witold Pilecki, who volunteered to Nazi German death camp Auschwitz in order to obtain firsthand information about atrocities committed in that place.
Based on this memory Polish Armed Forces have continue to be an integral part of Poland’s history and identity. Currently polls show that more than 75% of Polish citizens trust the Polish Army what means that the Armed Forces are among most trusted organizations in Poland.
Day of the Polish Armed Forces is also an occasion to focus on current and future challenges, that arise in global security environments and in Poland’s immediate neighborhood. From global perspective the increasing tensions between main world powers need to be evaluated also from military perspective as a factor impacting overall security situation. Simultaneously, the Polish Armed Forces, together with the NATO allies, are actively engaged to increase security versus current threats in Europe, including borders revisionism in the Eastern Europe, pursued also by means of military force. On the other hand, current challenges require strengthening of resilience, also in a military strategic approach, in many domains, including cyberspace and outer space.
As experience of the long years of the cooperation has showm, Poland and Indonesia share similar challenges, concerns and opportunities when it comes to the perception of the threats to the security and the way how to tackle them. Thus, to increase the global security both countries actively participate in UN peacekeeping missions. Currently, the members of armed forces from both nations serve together in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (the UNIFIL). Moreover, to strengthen the bilateral cooperation on the defense, in 2019 the technical agreement was signed. It gives the opportunity and impetus once the Covid -19 pandemic problems are over.
The Polish Armed Forces has been rapidly modernizing in recent years, with budget at level of 2% GDP (more than 10 bln USD). Supported by the modern and still developing military industry, Polish Armed Forces has been recently equipped, among other, with state-of-the-art radars, new anti-missile systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. In maritime domain Polish defence industry delivers warships and advances system to protect harbours. With these experiences the Polish defence industry is ready to undertake the broader cooperation with the Indonesian partners.
The celebration of the Day of the Polish Armed Forces brings an opportunity to consider again history and look in the future. Poland is determined to actively participate in strengthening rule-based global international order and global security. In that context cooperation with Indonesia can bring many advantages for both nations and created win-win situation. That is an ambitious goal for Polish and Indonesian military community.
