Indonesia Military

Indonesia is a country located in South East Asia. With a population of over 270 million people, it is the fourth most populous country in the world. Indonesia is a unitary presidential constitutional republic and its military consists of three branches: the Army, Navy and Air Force. The Armed Forces are responsible for defending the country’s borders and sovereignty, as well as providing security to its citizens. In terms of defense spending, Indonesia spends approximately $8 billion annually on its military, making it one of the highest defense spending nations in South East Asia. The country also participates in several NATO operations such as those in Afghanistan, as well as United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions such as those in Lebanon and Syria. Indonesia is also a member of both the European Union (EU) and NATO, and has close ties with other EU members such as France and Germany. See naturegnosis to learn more about the country of Indonesia.

Defense

The defense is based on selective military duty with an initial service of up to 24 months. Indonesia has been a member of ASEAN since 1967. In 1995, a defense agreement was signed with Australia. The defense (2008) comprises about 300,000 men with 400,000 men in reserve and is organized into an army of 233,000 men comprising about 75 battalions and 1 strategic operational force of 2 airborne brigades and 4 infantry brigades.

The Navy comprises 45,000 men with 2 submarines, 29 frigates/corvettes, 41 patrol boats, 26 landing craft, 1 naval aircraft with, among other things. 9 submarine helicopters and 1 navy corps of 20,000 men. The Air Force comprises 24,000 men with about 94 fighter aircraft and extensive transport aircraft. The material is modern in western and partly Soviet and indigenous origin. Semi-military security forces have been reduced from 1.7 million men to 280,000 men. To see related acronyms about this country, please check ABBREVIATIONFINDER where you can see that INA stands for Indonesia.

Indonesia Army

Defense costs in 1985-2006 decreased from 2.8% to 1.0% of GDP. Indonesia participates in a number of UN peacekeeping efforts, including in Congo (Kinshasa) (MONUC) and Lebanon (UNIFIL II). The armed opposition consists of six different groups of about 1,000 men. The armed struggle for the province of Aceh ceased in 2005 and is monitored by observers from Europe and neighboring countries (AMM).

In August 2003, a bomb exploded at a hotel in Jakarta, killing 15. Jemaah Islamiya (JI) was believed to be behind the attack. In September, two members of the organization were sentenced to death for the Bali attack two years earlier. Abu Bakar Ba’asyir was sentenced to 5 years in prison on other charges. It was not possible to prove his connection to the Bali bombings, prompting several governments to question Indonesia’s efforts in the fight against terrorism. JI was created in 1970 when President Suharto needed the support of extreme Islamists in his fight against the “communist danger”.

  • COUNTRYAAH: Do you know where is Indonesia on the world map? Come to see the location and all bordering countries of Indonesia.

In October 2003, the IMF granted a new loan to Indonesia after appreciating the country’s economy. Only a few months earlier, the government had announced that it was disconnecting from the lending institution because the government and the population opposed the demands of opening up the economy IMF.

In December, Human Rights Watch released a report accusing Indonesia of civilian, out-of-court executions, arrests and violent attacks in the government’s fight against GAM in Aceh. At the same time, the government’s “curtain of silence” was criticized over the fighting caused by journalists’ forms of entry into the war zone. A week later, three soldiers were sentenced to 20 months in prison for killing peasants during the attack on a village.

At the October 2004 presidential election, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono became the victor with 60% of the vote, while his main opponent, the incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri had to settle for 40%. Yudhoyono, a former security minister, had presented an ambitious program to eradicate nepotism, terrorism and corruption. The new president also promised to promote economic growth. 16% of Indonesians live below the poverty line.

In December, a violent tsunami hit Southeast Asia. It originated from a severe submarine earthquake 100km off the coast of Sumatra, and it was also Sumatra that was most severely affected. 220,000 were killed and 130,000 disappeared. Especially the Aceh province was hit, and the provincial capital Banda Aceh was roughly leveled to the ground by the violent flood. Villages in a wide belt along the coast were also washed away by the tidal wave. The rebel movement subsequently declared a ceasefire not to complicate relief efforts, but the Indonesian army used the disaster as a hideout to escalate its attacks on the rebels in the province.

In March 2005, Ba’asyir was found guilty of conspiracy with the Bali attacks in 2002. The court sentenced the imam to 2½ years in prison.

An earthquake off Sumatra cost more than 1,000 people. Most on the island of Nias.

In August, the government and Aceh’s liberation movement signed a peace deal, and by the end of the month, the government released about 1,500 prisoners linked to the armed struggle.

Both Sumatera Utara governor, Rizal Nurdin and his predecessor Raja Inal Siregar died in a plane crash in September 2005.