Jokowi has nominated Yudo as the new TNI commander replacing Gen. Andika Perkasa who will reach retirement age on Dec. 21. The nomination was confirmed in a presidential letter sent to the House of Representatives on Monday.

A confirmation hearing will be held next week, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said on Wednesday, after the House leadership completed paperwork to assign House Commission I, overseeing defense and foreign affairs, to host the session.

Commission I chairwoman Meutya Hafid has welcomed Yudo’s nomination, noting the lawmakers have been aware of Yudo's track record that includes his command of a military operation in the North Natuna Sea when Chinese vessels entered Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 2020.

Indonesia's EEZ off Natuna has been at the center of maritime tensions with China, which had sent coast guard-chaperoned fishing vessels to operate illegally in Indonesian waters such as the Natunas, which are close to the South China Sea.

”We have seen his performance quite well; reducing tension [in Natuna sea]. […] I am pleased that a Navy [chief] was given the chance to serve as the military chief," Meutya said on Instagram.

Lawmakers are expected to ask Yudo questions on his commitment to making sure military forces -- which dominated civilians during Soeharto’s New Order -- remain neutral in the lead-up to the 2024 general election and his plan to fulfill Minimum Essential Force (MEF) target by 2024, among others, lawmaker TB Hasanuddin said.

If approved by the House, Yudo, who will become the first Navy chief to lead the military since Jokowi took office in 2014, may have only 11 months to serve in the military’s top post before he reaches his mandatory retirement in November next year.

In such a short tenure, Yudo will need to come up with a roadmap to help turn Indonesia into a global maritime fulcrum, comprising the suitable power projection as a maritime nation, military readiness and military assets, defense analyst Connie Rahakundini Bakrie says.

"If we look at the geopolitical constellation now in the Asian century, we are closer to hot spots in the region," Connie said in a livestreamed interview by Kompas TV. "Our power projection can no longer be inward-looking; it needs to be outward-looking defense.”

In an interview with Nikkei Asia, outgoing TNI chief Andika said that it is seeking more and wider joint-military drills with other countries in the Indo-Pacific region -- including Brunei, Malaysia and all four members of the Quad -- to increase patrols around Natuna in the face of a more-aggressive China. This includes a plan for combined exercises involving the navies, air forces and armies of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei in Brunei next year.

“Holding joint-military exercises and coordinated routine patrol operations with countries in the region in the respective areas around the South China Sea is indeed worth considering,” military analyst Anton Aliabbas of the Center for Intermestic and Diplomatic Engagement (CIDE) told The Jakarta Post. “Aside from counterbalancing China's aggressiveness, this is done for the sake of creating the desired regional-security stability.”

While Yudo does not have much time to make policy breakthroughs, Anton added, prioritizing interoperability across three services, boosting its primary-defense system and increasing military readiness are urgent needs in the face of rising tension in the South China Sea.

Yudo will also likely help Jokowi safeguard the construction of the new capital city Nusantara in North Penajam Paser regency in East Kalimantan while maintaining the solidity of officers during political years ahead of the 2024 general election, analysts say.

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