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Government & Laws Indonesian State Formation and its Geostrategic Posture

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Lannie avatar
Posts: 806
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(@meleona)
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INTRODUCTION

I decide to write this piece because there is a lot of misperception and clichés about Indonesia in the media and even many think tanks. Often people remark that the country isn't cohesive and will balkanize. Many Australian observers have been saying this since the 1950s. This post will explain geographical and historical coherence of Indonesia.

First, Indonesia must be understood as a West-East Thalassocracy orientated around trade much like civilizations in Mediterranean. The trading concern transitioned into a plantation economy, and from this arose the plantation-settler state. The Indonesia's geostrategic drive even before it became independent was furthering the territorial expansion and exploitation (ie furthering the plantation system). Indonesia's foreign policy throughout much of its history involved advancing this form of nation building -- securing Indonesia's independence, recognition for Indonesia's "territorial expansion / consolidation"

The post will be organized as follows

  1. INDONESIA'S GEOSTRATEGIC DOCUMENT

  2. INDONESIAN GEOGRAPHY

  3. AUSTRONESIAN THALASSOCRACY

  4. CORE AND PERIPHERY

  5. MATARAM SULTANATE AND THE DUTCH-INDONESIAN CONTINUAM

  6. THE PLANTATION-SETTLER STATE

  7. HARDWARE OF THE PLANTATION-SETTLER STATE

  8. FOREIGN POLICY AS NATION BUILDING

  9. REFORMATION AND TRANSITION FROM THE SETTLER STATE

  10. NATIONAL BUILDING AS FOREIGN POLICY

INDONESIA'S GEOSTRATEGIC DOCUMENT

Indonesia's geostrategic document is Wawasan Nusantara or ARCHIPELAGIC OUTLOOK. It states Indonesia's geography. the Indonesia's geographical challenges, and how to deal with them. Wawasan Nusantara is based on the Djuanda Declaration which recognized:

  • Indonesia is an archipelagic state made up thousands of islands

  • All the islands and the seas connecting these Island fall under Indonesia's national territory

  • Free peaceful navigation by foreign ships through these waters will be guaranteed, as long as they don't disrupt Indonesia's sovereignty.

The declaration was made formalized into law in 1960, and serves as the basis for Indonesia's archipelagic state concept submitted to the UN.

Over time, four main themes emerged out of this conception(1) an enduring concern over geographical location; (2) a suspicion toward extra-regional powers; (3) an aspiration for regional activism and leadership; and (4) a concern over national unity in the wake of fragmented geography.

INDONESIAN GEOGRAPHY

Indonesia rest between Pacific and Indian Ocean, and between the Asian and Australian continents. As shown on the map there are four access points from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean that across Indonesia - Malacca Strait, Sunda Strait (ALKI I), Celebes-Lombok Strait (AKLIII), Banda Sea (ALKI--III)

According to a Rand Report published in 2013 Employing Land-Based Anti-Ship Missiles in the Western Pacific

Both Indonesia and Malaysia have robust arsenals of medium-range ASMs that, if these countries were willing, could effectively engage targets anywhere along the strait’s approximately 730-km length... would be difficult to defeat without employing land forces to locate these missile systems, which are mobile and relatively small in size ... Ships coming from the Indian Ocean could simply use the next-closest waterways, the Sunda and Lombok straits. However, the narrowness of these passages means that they could be easily covered with short-range missiles as well

The archipelago of 18,108 islands comprises 2.8 km2 (92,877 sq. km of inland waters), 1,826,440 km2 of land, and if the EEZ is factored in, the country’s area stretches to 7.9 million km2. Below is a map of Indonesia super imposed on Europe.

 

r/geopolitics - Indonesian State Formation and its Geostrategic Posture

However. despite the vast expense, East-West orientation means its aligned with the trade winds, which provide conduit for trade and migration much like the Mediterranean

AUSTRONESIAN THALASSOCRACY

All the large states in Maritime Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia) are Austronesian Thalassocracies.

Roughly 97% of Indonesians are Austronesian/Part Austronesian. Indonesian as well as 400 other Austronesian languages are spoken as the native tongue by 98% of Indonesians.. Indonesia is the world's largest Austronesian country. Below are a maps of ethnic and religious distribution However, the map only shows the geographical spread based of their region of origin.

 

r/geopolitics - Indonesian State Formation and its Geostrategic Posture
r/geopolitics - Indonesian State Formation and its Geostrategic Posture

The first reason why I introduce Indonesia as an Austronesian entity, because there Austronesians elements in Indonesia's national symbols.

Secondly, it helps to understand Maritime Southeast Asia. The basic cultural identity of Maritime Southeast Asia is Austronesian. The salim gesture is found across the region, whether in the Philippines (referred to as Mano in the Philippines), Malaysia and in Indonesia from a governor,jungle nomads in Sumatra to Papuans living in coastal areas.. The non-Austronesian influences like Hindu-Buddhist, Muslim or Christian are layers of culture on top of the Austronesian core.

Lastly, Austronesian culture influences settlement and ultimately Indonesian geopolitics. According to Eurasianist Petr Savitsky, a civilization or group of people, have a specific mestorazvitie or place of development. This is to answer perrendial question whether Indonesia is going to invade Australia. The answer is no For Austronesians their mestorazvitie has been islands, particularly ones with volcanos. Austronesian civilizations are primarily found on sub-tropical/tropical volcanic islands. 90% of Austronesians live on volcanic islands, the volcanic soils compensate for the lack of large river basins.

WEST EAST THALASSOCRACY

Indonesia is the only major Island country aligned longitudinally. The foundation of longitudinal thalassocracies is trade, because of the alignment with East-West trade wins.

In the Mediterranean, Phoenician traders created the network of ports that eventually became the Carthaginian Empire. In the Baltic, it was German traders from Northern Germany travelling and setting up shop in various ports that laid the foundation for Hanseatic League.

 

r/geopolitics - Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League

In Indonesian archipelago, various migratory trading communities like the Malays in Western Indonesia and Bugis / Makassarsse in the Eastern Indonesia created a network that the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) grafted onto.

Another similar characteristic was the development of trading lingua franca, during the Iron Age in Mediterranean it was Phoenancian, Hanseatic League it was Middle Low German(MLG) and in the Indonesian archipelago it was Malay. In Indonesia, the influence of Malay was established even before it was adopted as Indonesia's national language. Malay creoles are spoken as the main language stretch from Jakarta to the Papuan Bird's Head.

CORE AND PERIPHERY

The main geostrategic dichotomy in Indonesia is the Java (Core) vs outer islands (Periphery), it informs Indonesian debates on development, defense-security, and socio-political.

The island of Java was the population center of Maritime Southeast Asia. In 1800 it had a population greater than the rest of Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines combined. Even today, Java has only 6% of Indonesia land mass, but 57% of its population.

What made Java attractive for human habitation was the highest density of active volcanoes of the major islands in SEA, comparatively few earthquakes since its 500 km away from kilometers from major fault lines. Java resembles the Italian Peninsula in the Mediterranean, another location that benefited from volcanic soils.

r/geopolitics - Indonesian State Formation and its Geostrategic Posture

 

r/geopolitics - Indonesian State Formation and its Geostrategic Posture

 

A major debate in Indonesian discourse is the developmental inequality between Java )particularly Jakarta) and the rest. There have been accusations of Javanese Imperialism (the dominant ethnic group in Indonesia), that natural resources from the rest of Indonesia support Java. Reality is per capita incomes on Java are the same as the national average. This perception remains large because Java had a head start on development during the colonial period and it attracts a lot of investment relative to its physical area (50% of Indonesia's foreign investment ends up on Java)

From a defense viewpoint, the hard core and hallow periphery has been a characteristic vulnerability.

The Mongols in 1292 and Japanese in 1942 sailed right into Java with little resistance in the outer islands.

r/geopolitics - Japanese Invasion Route
Japanese Invasion Route

The Java vs Outer island divide also translate into political differences. The Javanese (96% of who are Muslim)( vote for left wing secular / moderate Islamic parties / candidates, while non-Javanese Muslims vote for more right wing secular / hardline Islamic parties / candidates.

MATARAM SULTANATE AND THE DUTCH-INDONESIAN CONTINUAM

The foundation of the Indonesian state starts with the reign of Hanyakrakusuma (Sultan Agung) the third ruler of the Mataram Sultanate,1613-1645,

During his reign he expanded the Sultanate from Central Java to cover almost all of Java. Prior to his reign, kingdom in Indonesia were sea based trading kingdoms, with direct control over small pockets of land. It postulated that Sultan Agung believed you needed to conquer Java first, before conquering the rest of the archipelago. The Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit tried to do this, without bringing Western Java under their control.

Sultan Agung introduced a centralized administration to manage conquered territory, in contrast to the vassal system of a Mandala polity used before . He assigned adipati (Dukes) to rule provinces called kadipaten. In the past defeated enemies often continued to rule their fiefdom as vassals of the conquering kingdom; under Sultan Agung they were held as "prisoners" in the capital. As a result of the centralization and treatment of defeated enemies, the reign of Sultan's Agung and his successors was one of war. and rebellion

When the VOC took over Mataram territories in the mid-1700s, they kept this structure while only changing terminology. Adipati became Bupati (Regent or Regenten ) and kadipaten became Kebupaten (Regency or Regentschappen).. Indonesia still uses this structure, but with the province replacing the residency.

Until its bankruptcy in 1796, the VOC remained primarily a maritime trading concern, However, the plantations it setup in West Java in early 1700s, became the economic justification for territorial expansion and conquest that continued into late 20th century.

r/geopolitics - Indonesian State Formation and its Geostrategic Posture

What made this expansion possible was the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, which resolved the long standing disputes between the Dutch and British, and set clear sphere of influence. It divided the Malacca Strait down the middle and established the borders of British Malaya and Dutch East Indies, and by extension modern day Malaysia and Indonesia.

THE PLANTATION-SETTLER STATE

Indonesia is a plantation-settler state, with the plantation and settler aspects separating and merging throughout history

PLANTATIONS

The first Dutch plantations were built in West Java in the late 18th century

However, in 1800, much of Java was still jungle, but within a century Java was viewed by many as the world's most modern plantation economy. New lands were opened up, and peasants were forced to grow cash crops. Farmers allocated converted irrigated rice fields for cash crops, and marginal lands was used to grow corn, cassava and sweet potato. As a result Java was plagued by famines until the 1970s, when Suharto transitioned irrigated lands back to growing rice,

By the mid-19th century, the Dutch had opened up coffee and rubber plantations in Sumatra, and by 1880s they begin to import Javanese coolies.

From 1900-1960, plantation crops made up about 50-60% of Dutch East Indies/Indonesia exports. While Java transitioned away from plantation economy in the 1970s, the economies of the outer islands are still plantation economies. Palm Oil and other cash crops still make up 30% of Indonesia's exports.

SETTLERS

Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines had government human resettlement programs. However, Indonesia's was the most extensive, 20 Million people and their descendants are products of the transmigration program.

There are four commonly cited reasons for the resettlement:

The first transmigration settlement was established in Lampung on the Southern tip of Sumatra in 1905. From 1949-67, about 578,000 transmigrants were sent.

TRANSMIGRATION SETTLEMENTS UNDER SUHARTO 1967-2000

Under Suharto from 1967-2000, Indonesia sent over 5.5 Million transmigrants, and during the peak from 1979-1984, they sent 2.4 Million. The majority were landless agricultural workers, Here is a map of all the transmigrant areas since 1905.

r/geopolitics - Indonesian State Formation and its Geostrategic Posture

There were four categories of transmigrants. Transmigrants who migrated from another region (usually Java and Bali), those who moved from one settlement to another, those who were moved because of natural disasters and spontaneous migrants who funded their own expenses for the move.

Transmigrants were from one region (ie Java or Bali), but not from one particular village. In this period they usually settled non-Muslims in non-Muslim areas, largely to avoid conflicts over raising pigs.

Settlement were usually built away from the local villages/towns to avoid conflict. While in colonial and Sukarno era settlements transmigrants cleared the land, by 1970s infrastructure, housing and support facilities built before transmigrants arrived. The cost in 1977 to move a family of five was US$1200 and by the early 1990s it increased to US$4200 The cost included transport, land, housing materials, tools, seeds and initial food supplies. This is a significant sum given the country's per capita income was only US$500 in 1990. Indonesia funded this from government revenue and loans from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB)

ISSUES WITH THE PLANTATION-SETTLER STATE

Indonesia's plantations and settlements have been associated with Land Disputes and Environmental Destruction, Patronage and Corruption and Ethnic and Religious Conflict.

Land Disputes and Environmental Destruction

Most of the land disputes involving local inhabitants were with plantations and spontaneous migrants, Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria (Consortium for Agrarian Reform, KPA), an Indonesian NGO, documented more than 650 land-related conflicts affecting over 650,000 households in 2017 ( 502,000 Ha ).

Indonesia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, with more than 74 million hectares (285,700 square miles) of rainforest, an area nearly twice the size of Japan - logged, burned or degraded in the last half century, according to Greenpeace.

r/geopolitics - Indonesian State Formation and its Geostrategic Posture

Corruption and Patronage

The opening of new lands is a corrupt process even by Indonesian standards. Embezzlement is higher because new infrastructure is being built and due to distance from Jakarta.

The second type of corruption is the payment of bribes for permits, licenses and titles. Here is a list of recent cases

Lastly, both the Indonesian Military (particularly the Army) and Police were and are still involved in illicit activity, like smuggling, drug trafficking, protection rackets and illegal logging.

In respect, to the military, this participation is an offshoot of operating legitimate businesses from 1945-2010, and has been effectively phased out, The military involvement in business arose during the War of Independence 1945-49. when it had raise money to support themselves. In 2009, it was estimated the INdonesian military businesses had about US$350 Million in assets, and generated a profit of US$ 29.5 Million / year.. Because these enterprises no longer exist and also due to rise in retirement age, the Indonesian Army has hundreds of colonels and general with no functional position.

ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS TENSION

Given the scale of the program, the consensus among scholars is there has been relatively little ethnic and religious conflicts between transmigrants and local inhabitants,. Most of the violent incidents had occurred in Sukarno era projects where they put non-Muslim migrants in Muslim areas and vice versa like with Balinese Hindu migrants and Lampung natives in Sumatra (2012). Post-Sukarno era projects avoided this by trying to settle non-Muslim settlers in non-Muslim areas.

THE HARDWARE OF THE PLANTATION-SETTLER STATE

In this discussion, I will talk about physical infrastructure, and the government instruments used to secure control -- civilian bureaucracy and the military.

INFRASTRUCTURE

From the late 18th century until recently, the transportation network (roads, railways and ports) and irrigation systems were prioritized. The transportation networks were designed to transport crops(and later on natural resources from plantations and mines to nearby ports for export markets. At the moment only Java has a islandwide rail system and expressway. In all the other major islands, there is no expressway, just a series of roads connecting to each other, which may or may not form an island wide system.

Export manufacturing industries setup starting from the 1980s followed a similar pattern. Most export industries, like in the rest of Southeast Asia, are house in industrial estates

The focus of Power generation is to supply industry and industrial estates. As a result of this focus on industrial power generation, as recently as 2004 electrification was only 50% (now its 99.8%)

As a result of this estate focus, nationwide connectivity is still poor. Logistics sectors is plagued by long delivery times and unreliability.

After Reformasi, infrastructure spending dropped from 9% of GDP in the mid-1990s to 3.6% in 2014. However, as a result of big infrastructure push under the current President, Joko Widodo, as of 2019 its 6% of GDP. Since 2014, the focus has been to address issues of distribution and connectivity. Long delayed infrastructure projects like Trans Java expressway, Trans Papuan Road Network and Jakarta MRT have been completed

CIVILIAN BUREAUCRACY

From the colonial era to 2003, the Indonesian state was centralized, the regional governments, provincial and district (regency) only controlled 14% of government expenditure. The center controlled nearly all capital expenditure. and executed programs based on centralized five year plans

The centralized bureaucracy was necessary to settle large numbers of people from one part of the country to another, because you have end to end control. In Indonesia, transmigration was handled and coordinated by Department of Transmigration.

After 1998, the Indonesian government implemented a big decentralizing push. The centralized Five Year Plans were scrapped, budgets, some revenue collecting authority, personal and assets were devolved to regional governments. 60% of central government bureaucracy had been transferred to regional governments (2.1 Million people)

MILITARY

At the core of Indonesia's military doctrine is Abdul Haris Nasution’s Fundamentals of Guerrilla Warfare (1953) who served as Army Chief of Staff from 1949-52 and 1955-66. Nasution, having fought on both sides, saw insurgency and counter insurgency as two sides of the same coin. Secondly, given the weakness of Indonesia navy and airforce, the external defense of Indonesia would be organized as a people's guerilla war with the military taking the lead role.

In addition, Nasution was a key proponent in the Indonesia's Army adoption of the Prussian Wehrkreis (military district) as a method of territorial defense and troop mobilization. The Indonesian Army has 15 KODAM (Komando Daerah Militer or Regional Military Commands) Each Kodam is divided smaller territorial units, with the smallest being village level command (BABINSA). At the center there is the Strategic Reserves (KOSTRAD) and the Special Forces (KOPASSUS)

 

r/geopolitics - Indonesian State Formation and its Geostrategic Posture

There are three extra Kodam formed since the map was produced, Kodam Trikora has split into Kasuari and Cenderawasih, Kodam Wirabuana split into Hasanuddin and Merdeka.

Nasution also came up with the Military's dual function (Dwifungsi) role in 1955, which the government implemented in 1966. It stipulated beside the military's defense functions, the military should participate in every effort and activity of the people in the field of ideology, politics and economics. The military was given reserved seats in Parliament, as well as important positions in the civilian bureaucracy, state owned companies and regional government (city mayors and provincial governors).

The democratic transition had a major impact on the military in three ways. First the military no longer adheres to dwifungsi role. Reserved seats in parliament have been eliminated, and no longer parachuted into civilian positions like mayor. Secondly, the focus of the Indonesian military is now external defense. Thirdly, the budgets of the Navy and Airforce has been increased. Fourthly, the Armed Forces Chief of Staff is rotated between three branches, before it was held by an army generals. Since 2019, the Indonesian military has been organized on a joint command system Kogabwilhan (Komando Gabungan Wilayah Pertahanan) with a Western, Central and Eastern Joint Command.

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