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View all search resultsIndonesia’s grand strategy for integrated deterrence and defense modernization
Indonesia needs a gradual increase in defense spending to a minimum of 1.5 percent of GDP, prioritizing, among other matters, public-private collaboration, ensuring a sustainable modernization.
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Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel rappel from an Indonesian Air Force H-225 M Caracal helicopter on September 6, 2024, during the Super Garuda Shield 2024 joint military exercise including Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States in Situbondo, East Java. (AFP/Juni Kriswanto)
W
hile most people may not be aware, the Perisai Trisula Nusantara, or Nusantara Trident Shield (NTS) defense vision, represents a bold and ambitious evolution of Indonesia’s earlier Minimum Essential Force (MEF) program.
Introduced by President Prabowo Subianto when he was defense minister, the NTS vision integrates conventional military capabilities with advanced cyber warfare systems, creating credible deterrence while reinforcing national sovereignty through tri-service synergy and enhanced domestic defense capacity.
This framework aligns with Indonesia’s strategic needs in an era of modern warfare, extending beyond mere hardware modernization to encompass a holistic transformation of defense doctrine.
From a conceptual perspective, the NTS vision resonates with neoclassical realist theory, which posits that a state’s foreign and defense policies are shaped by both systemic pressures and domestic variables, including elite perceptions and institutional constraints.
Indonesia’s adoption of NTS reflects systemic imperatives, such as archipelagic control and anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) posturing, while navigating domestic capability limitations and political objectives.
Moreover, the strategy underscores the necessity of unifying military and non-military instruments to achieve national security goals, integrating land, naval, air, space, cyber and other domains into a cohesive strategy.
Furthermore, NTS frames Indonesia’s military modernization as a signaling mechanism, demonstrating resolve and imposing credible costs on potential adversaries, whether state or non-state actors, particularly in, but not limited to, contested maritime zones such as the North Natuna Sea and the Malacca Strait.
