Moving Capital Will Strengthen National Defense: State Intelligence Agency

TheIndonesia.id - State Intelligence Agency, or BIN, has said that by moving the capital to East Kalimantan, Indonesia creates an opportunity to strengthen its defense, as the island is bigger than Java and can become the center of defense industry.

BIN chief Budi Gunawan said Kalimantan’s geographical condition will contribute positively to the improvement of Indonesia’s defense.

“From geostrategic perspective, Indonesia will have a better strategic depth since Kalimantan is six times bigger than Java,” Gunawan said on Thursday, February 10, as reported by Antara.

Moving the capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan, he added, will also enable the development of an integrated defense industry cluster which is important to realize Indonesia’s indigenous defense production.

"This will allow Indonesia to take advantage of the geopolitical dynamics in the Indo Pacific by maneuvering between regional alliances, such as the Five Power Defense Arrangements (FPDA), AUKUS, and China's Belt and Road Initiative," Gunawan explained.

He argued that the establishment of AUKUS, which is a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, shows that geopolitical constellation of world’s giants has shifted to Asia Pacific region.

While the three countries have announced the AUKUS aims to promote stability and won’t violate the Treaty on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in Indo Pacific, the BIN chief said nuclear submarines, which is part of AUKUS deal, might still pass through Indonesian territorial waters.

Therefore, Indonesia must be actively involved in the process of confidence and capacity building, especially with the fact that Indonesia has numerous strategic partnerships in different sectors with AUKUS and FPDA countries (the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore) as well as China.

“The relocation of the capital is also Indonesia's momentum to improve the safeguarding of its archipelagic sea lanes and territorial waters that share borders with the Indo Pacific region. This will emphasize Indonesia’s stance in responding to current dynamic in the regional, and it’s an important step towards protecting national interests,” Gunawan concluded.