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Indonesia to build frontier military HQ near South China Sea
The Riau Islands administration has earmarked a plot of land in the provincial capital of Tanjung Pinang to build a new military headquarters for its Joint Defense Area Command (Kogabwilhan) I.
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Commander of the Navy’s First Fleet Command Rear Adm. Yudo Margono (left) welcomes the United States Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph R. Donovan to the Ranai naval base in Natuna, Riau Islands, on Thursday. Donovan visited Natuna to learn about its fishery and tourism potential as well as the region’s strategic value to Indonesia. (Courtesy of the Indonesian Navy/-)
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ndonesia is planning to fortify its borders by setting up three new Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters around its northern and eastern fronts, including one in Riau Islands province to keep a watchful eye on developments in the disputed South China Sea “on a much larger scale”.
The Riau Islands administration has earmarked a plot of land in the provincial capital of Tanjung Pinang to build a home base for its Joint Defense Area Command I, a senior official has said.
“There is a total of 40 hectares that is being prepped for the command base and for housing. Building will commence next year,” acting governor Isdianto told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The new joint operations headquarters will further beef up military presence in the area, which is already the site of the Tanjung Pinang and Ranai naval bases. Isdianto recently accompanied Brig. Gen. Gabriel Lema, chief of the 033 WP military regional command (Korem), to survey the plot of land in Tanjung Pinang’s Dompak region where the base will be situated.
The Joint Defense Area Command (Kogabwilhan) is a new command structure in the military specifically set up for border security, and the new headquarters in Tanjung Pinang is expected to oversee operations in the area bordering on Singapore, Malaysia and China. “One of the tasks of the joint military command here involves direct supervision of activities in the South China Sea on a much larger scale,” he said.
The South China Sea, a resource-rich body of water that is also one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes, has for decades been the subject of overlapping territorial claims and is increasingly becoming a flashpoint for countries asserting sovereignty over the disputed waters. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam contest China’s sweeping claims to the sea, which an international tribunal ruling invalidated in 2016.
Indonesia is not a party to any territorial disputes, but China’s claim extended to a patch of sea off the Natuna Islands chain. Tensions with Beijing have led Jakarta to assert its exclusive rights over the waters by renaming it the North Natuna Sea and establishing a maritime industry hub in the vicinity.
