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Andika vows to sort out TNI’s role
The Indonesian Military (TNI) can no longer “act arbitrarily”, the Army chief of staff said at his confirmation hearing for the institution's top position on Saturday.
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Army chief of staff Gen. Andika Perkasa. (Kompas.com/Courtesy of Dispenad)
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rmy chief of staff Gen. Andika Perkasa, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s sole nominee for commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI), noted at his confirmation hearing on Saturday that the institution had many shortcomings and vowed to make sorting out its role the first priority of his 13-month tenure.
The hearing, followed by Andika’s confirmation later that day, ended months of speculation over who might take the reins of the TNI.
Andika, who rose to the top Army post in 2018 and was nominated by the President for the TNI’s highest position last week, told House of Representatives Commission I overseeing national defense and foreign affairs that he would restore the TNI to its proper role in accordance with prevailing laws.
The four-star general said maintaining the TNI’s discipline in carrying out its duties would serve as a symbol of the institution’s strength.
“We can no longer act arbitrarily, as if we have the authority [to take certain actions when we do not]. We will carry out our duties in accordance with the law,” he told reporters after the hearing.
Andika also pledged to strengthen cooperation between the three branches of the military – the Army, Navy and Air Force – to improve interoperability, reinvigorate joint operations, strengthen intelligence capabilities in conflict-ridden regions and improve defense operations more broadly, as well as to boost cyber operations. He added that he would seek to improve the organization’s structure and integration and "reactualize military diplomacy" in accordance with Indonesian foreign policy.
Andika, who will serve as TNI commander for only 13 months before his mandatory retirement at the age of 58, asked the public to not place unrealistically high hopes in the military.
