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Analysis: Indonesia-US war games become Gen. Andhika’s pet project
This year’s joint military exercise between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the United States armed forces are called “Super Garuda Shield”, indicating that the war games have been expanded to involve a total of 14 countries as well as the naval and air forces, instead of just the army.
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Hundreds of soldiers from the Infrantri-1 Division / Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) attended the ceremony at the Military Naval Command, North Jakarta (Sunday, May 25, 2014) before leaving for the 2014 TNI Joint Training location in Situbondo, East Java. A number of Key Defense System Tools were also dispatched in addition to dispatching soldiers involved in the 2014 TNI joint training. 2014 TNI Combined Training began on 1-5 June 2014. (JP/P.J. Leo)
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his year’s joint military exercise between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the United States armed forces are called “Super Garuda Shield”, indicating that the war games have been expanded to involve a total of 14 countries as well as the naval and air forces, instead of just the army. Running from Aug. 1 to 14 and involving 4,000 troops, the two-week joint exercise has become something of a pet project for TNI commander Gen. Andhika Perkasa.
On the one hand, the joint exercise reflects where Andhika’s and by association, the TNI’s, leaning is in the ongoing hegemonic contest between the US and China. Although Indonesia’s official stance is neutrality or nonalignment, it has never kept equal distance, leaning towards one or the other superpower depending on its national interests. Indonesia may be economically closer to China today, but when it comes to security, it is decidedly moving closer to the US, thanks to Andhika.
While this American bias may also hold true for all past TNI commanders, as the country’s armed forces have been historically closer to the US because of the weapons system they use and their training, expanding the annual Garuda Shield in the current geopolitical climate sends the clearest message of Andhika’s preference to both Washington and Beijing.
In the past, Garuda Shield has always fallen under the TNI Army chief of staff. Andhika raised eyebrows in thisat capacity last year, when he organized the largest-ever joint exercise since the program was launched in 2009, involving a total of 6,000 American and Indonesian troops.
Andhika was appointed as the TNI commander in November 2021, but rather than leaving the annual exercise to his successor Gen. Dudung Abdurachman, he took over Garuda Shield and then expanded it, inviting 12 additional countries, mostly regional allies of the US. Conspicuously missing is China, though apparently it declined Indonesia’s invitation.
This has prompted speculation that Andhika, who harbors presidential ambition, is using every means at his disposal to elevate his public profile, including taking personal command of Garuda Shield. At a time when China’s geopolitical ambition and threat looms large over the South China Sea, it may not be so bad to be seen as pro-US, contravening Indonesia’s nonaligned foreign policy.
As the latest entry among the presidential hopefuls, Andhika is considered a dark horse in the 2024 race and has a relatively low electability. Opinion polls put Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, a retired retired general and two-time presidential runner-up, as among the voter favorites.
