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Jokowi backs Prabowo over weapons system modernization
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Parade of loyalty: Indonesian Military troops march in a parade with artillery weaponry in the background during the force's anniversary ceremony at Halim Perdanakusuma air base in East Jakarta. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has appeared to fully back Defense Minister and former rival Prabowo Subianto over his effort to modernize Indonesia’s weapons system, saying that such a move was necessary to counter wide-ranging security challenges going forward.
The President, speaking in a meeting with officials from the Defense Ministry, the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI), emphasized the importance of “defense diplomacy” amid a wider spectrum of potential conflicts.
“The first big challenge [for Indonesia] is the widening spectrum of conflicts around the world. That is why we have to strengthen our defense diplomacy to ease tensions between countries and stand ready to deploy our weapons to enforce the law in our territory,” Jokowi said in Jakarta on Thursday.
The former Jakarta mayor called on the military and the police to be able to handle all types of conflict, from conventional warfare and asymmetric warfare – such as guerilla warfare and acts of terrorism – to hybrid warfare, adding that the TNI and the National Police should be the vanguard of efforts to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty.
In his remarks, Jokowi also indicated he supported Prabowo’s overseas trips, saying that it was important for Indonesia to strengthen its “defense diplomacy” with other countries.
“For those who question the defense minister’s [visits] to countries, [know] that [they are conducted] in the name of defense diplomacy,” the President said. “However, I know that he went to these countries to look at the weapons system that we want to purchase.”
Since being appointed by Jokowi as defense minister in the Indonesia Onward Cabinet late last year, Prabowo has toured seven countries, including neighbors Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. He also went to China, Japan, Turkey and France.
