Maritime security is not necessarily limited to warships and naval warfare. It also encompasses the maritime environment's integrity and maritime navigation safety. As an archipelagic nation, Indonesia has an inherent interest in keeping its maritime environment safe and secure from threats at and from the sea.

There are at least three primary maritime security concerns for Indonesia.

First, China’s assertive behavior in the South China Sea has had ramifications on regional stability. In addition, the renewed attention of great powers in the Indo-Pacific has generated differing visions of Indo-Pacific security. It is in Indonesia’s interests to ensure these tensions do not adversely affect its own security.

Second, the current state of Indonesia’s maritime security apparatus has improved, but it is still inadequate relative to Indonesia’s vast maritime territory. There are still gaps in routine patrols due to equipment and personnel shortages. Although imaging technologies may alleviate operational burdens, effective maritime law enforcement still requires hulls and crews at sea.

Third, environmental degradation of the marine environment will have catastrophic effects on Indonesia’s territorial integrity. It is estimated that by 2050, thousands of islands that make up the archipelago will be submerged. Moreover, environmental degradation affects global fish stocks. Drops in fish stocks force fishing vessels to venture further out into the high seas, contributing to a rise in illegal fishing and increasing the risk of fishing wars. Smaller fishermen without the means to fish in the high seas are limited to territorial waters, where declining fish stocks have often triggered violent conflict between traditional fishing communities.

Given this situation, it is crucial that the next administration has a coherent agenda that addresses both global and domestic maritime security problems. There are at least three major issues the next administration should pay attention to and seek to solve.

The first pressing issue is to clarify regulations governing jurisdictions and authority in the maritime domain. Indonesia faces the challenge of having 13 different agencies with overlapping jurisdictions and authorities in maritime security.

One of the attempts to corral these agencies was to strengthen the role of the Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla). In 2014, Bakamla was formed through a presidential regulation to act as a focal point for maritime security policy formulation and coordination.

However, as a relatively new agency founded on a weak legal basis, it faced difficult operational conditions due to its limited budget, equipment and personnel. Moreover, Bakamla only has powers of arrest while lacking the authority to investigate crimes at sea. A draft bill on maritime security, which would consolidate Bakamla’s position, has been proposed since 2016. However, its fate remains uncertain. Without coordinated efforts, Indonesia’s maritime security governance will continue to be plagued by turf wars.

Second, for Indonesia to have the capacity to safeguard its vast waters and contribute to regional maritime cooperation, the next administration should also focus on modernizing and rejuvenating Indonesia’s aging fleet. This would not only cover warships but also smaller boats that are necessary for maritime security agencies to effectively carry out their law-enforcement duties.

The current administration has arguably made significant efforts to acquire the necessary equipment; however, given the poor track record of accountability in these large-scale purchases, the next administration should ensure procurement is free from corruption. Bribery plagued Bakamla’s procurement of its backbone coastal surveillance system in 2016.  

Third, to preserve the marine environment, there should be a radical shift from extractive policies toward more sustainable use of marine resources. This is an area where Indonesia has experience, as shown in domestic regulations banning exploitative fishing practices and practices detrimental to marine preservation, in addition to its activism in promoting sustainable fisheries regionally through the Coral Triangle Initiative and other platforms.

Though the current administration has often promised to transition toward a sustainable ocean economy, it has also backtracked from its commitments through potentially detrimental policies such as relaxing sea sand exports through a government regulation signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on May 15.

The next administration ought to pay more attention to not only making claims of sustainability but making sure to improve the welfare of coastal communities, which are on the front line of marine environmental degradation. In addition, it should also seek to intensify regional cooperation on marine environment protection.

These are only a few of the myriad maritime security issues that candidates will have to address, but they providee a glimpse of what voters should pay attention to when voting.

Indonesia cannot risk turning its back on the seas, even if the presidential candidates do not run on the idea of making Indonesia a “maritime fulcrum”.

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The writer is a doctoral student at the Graduate School of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto. He is also an adjunct lecturer at President University, West Java.