TheJakartaPost
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Indonesia needs more high-performance submarines badly
While the development of Indonesia’s offensive underwater capacities will not be directed toward nuclear-powered submarines, the archipelago should be able to cope with ongoing evolutions in the security context.
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On the surface: Indonesian Navy’s submarine Alugoro-405 built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) stays afloat near the naval base in Surabaya, East Java, on March 17, 2021. Indonesia only operates four submarines. (AFP/Indonesian Defense Ministry)
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n Aug. 2, Indonesia submitted a report entitled “Nuclear Naval Propulsion” to the 10th meeting of the review conference of the parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT RevCon) at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States.
According to Indonesian authorities, the report, dubbed the Indonesian paper, aimed to fill the void in international rules related to nuclear-powered submarines and, at the same time, to build awareness of their potential risks.
As a matter of fact, Jakarta has shared concerns regarding the use of nuclear-powered submarines by several countries in the Indo-Pacific region and the upcoming challenges of the evolving balance of power, as well as the danger of nuclear proliferation the submarines represent, while emphasizing the risks of potential environmental pollution and radiation.
It is worth remembering that nuclear-powered submarines are different from classic ones by their propulsion, which allows them to stay on patrol for a long period of time, and, as of today, only the US, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and India are operating nuclear-powered submarines, while the first Brazilian nuclear-powered submarine is undergoing construction.
However, in September 2021, during the announcement of the AUKUS trilateral security pact, which involves the US, the UK and Australia, Canberra announced that it would build eight nuclear-powered submarines in the coming decades. The decision has been perceived by several actors as a major risk as it might precipitate an arms race that could lead to nuclear proliferation.
A few months after the AUKUS announcement, debates on the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines resurfaced, for example in South Korea and Japan, which could lead to further escalation of tensions within the Indo-Pacific region.
From this perspective, regional countries acquiring nuclear-powered submarines appear as a real concern for Indonesia. It is worth remembering that back in 1995, Jakarta was actively involved in the formation of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (SEANWFZ) treaty and that the country has been particularly active in forums held by the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
