STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT-Jakarta. Army Strategic Reserve Command Chief of Staff Personnel Assistant Brig. Gen. Pambudi, representing Army Strategic Reserves Commander Lt. Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak met with the Advanced Strategic Leadership Program at the Kostrad Headquarters, Central Jakarta. Dr. G. Scott Gorman led the Advanced Strategic Leadership Studies Program delegation, joined by U.S. Army Attaché Col. Theodore Leo Liebreich and two U.S. Embassy representatives in Indonesia.
Gen. Pambudi in his remarks representing the Army Strategic Reserves Commander expressed gratitude for the delegation’s visit. He talked about military cooperation with partner countries through joint training.
In 2022, the Army Strategic Reserves Command conducted joint training with the United States, including the Super Garuda Shield-16/2022 on July 26 to Aug. 14 in Baturaja, the Garuda Airborne training on July 28 to Aug. 5 in Balikpapan and Baturaja, and the JPMRC 23-01 training on Oct. 1 to Nov. 15 in Hawaii.
Republikorp, an Indonesian defense industry company, officially collaborated with Milkor, a UAE-based company, for the development and joint production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UCAV) 380. According to Republikorp founder Norman Joesoef, this technology will be adopted and ready for production in Indonesia within the next 12 months.
Indonesia and the United States will increase defense cooperation, according to a discussion in Jakarta between Deputy Defense Minister M. Herindra, who was representing Minister Prabowo Subianto, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
Herindra and Duckworth agreed to explore new bilateral cooperation to strengthen existing cooperation. The United States and Indonesia have a long-term security partnership that focuses on maritime security, counter-terrorism, and military professionalization.
Herindra said he believed transfer of technology to support the growth of Indonesia’s defense industry and improve Indonesian National Military (TNI) soldiers’ capabilities will promote defense cooperation between Indonesia and the United States.
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, while receiving a courtesy call from Singaporean Defense Force Chief Lieutenant General Melvyn Ong, expressed full support for military cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and respect for sovereignty. Prabowo said he is optimistic that, after the implementation of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between the two countries, defense interaction and cooperation will improve.
XVII/Cenderawasih Military Region Commander Maj. Gen. Muhammad Saleh Mustafa confirmed that no soldiers were involved in the riots that occurred in Sinakma, Wamena District, Jayawijaya Regency, Highland Papua. “There is no proof that soldiers from XVII/Cenderawasih Military Region Command and 1702/Jayawijaya Military District Command were involved, but if there are people out there who twist the facts, I will report them,” Mustafa said. He also said that his team would prosecute those trying to spread fake news.
XVII/Cenderawasih Military Region Commander Major General Muhammad Saleh Mustafa said rescue efforts will prioritize the role of the local government, traditional leaders, and community leaders, which means that the TNI does not intervene directly to free the pilot.
Papua Regional Police Spokesperson Ignatius Prabowo said Jayawijaya Police Chief Hesman Sotarduga Napitupulu was removed from his position following the riot in Wamena on Thursday, which killed 11 civilians and injured a number of residents. Papua Police Chief Inspector Mathius D. Fakhiri said 16 police officers were being investigated in connection with the riot in Wamena, and the number may increase as the investigation is still ongoing.
Papua Police Chief Mathius D. Fahiri stated that the negotiating team for the release of Susi Air pilot Captain Philip Mark Mertehns had contacted Egianus Kogoya, the leader of the Ndugama armed criminal group.
Mathius said Egianus has asked for firearms and ammunition in exchange with the Susi Air pilot who was still being held hostage. He made it clear that the request could not be carried out because it was risky, could compromise security, and could cause casualties.
Security forces in Indonesia’s restive Papua region have surrounded separatists holding captive a New Zealand pilot, but will exercise restraint while negotiations for his release continue, a top security official said. Philip Mehrtens, a Susi Air pilot, was taken hostage by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TNPB) on Feb 7 after landing in the remote region of Nduga. The rebels say they will not release Mehrtens, 37, unless Indonesia’s government recognises the region’s independence and withdraws its troops.
Papua Police Spokesperson Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo said the number of casualties in a riot triggered by rumors a child had been kidnapped in Wamena, Papua, increased to 12, adding that 23 people were injured in the incident.
More than 200 security personnel, including police and the military, had been deployed to contain the situation. Benny said the situation remained tense, but there had been no further violence. The riot had started after locals, angered by rumors about a child kidnapping, started throwing rocks at the Wamena police station where a man accused of abducting a six-year-old was detained, he said.
Police summoned the child’s parents to clarify that she was safe, but that failed to stem the violence and other buildings were set ablaze in the area, he added. Security forces responded by opening fire, killing people and wounding some others.
Even though public services and economic activity have not yet returned to normal in Wamena, Jayawijaya Regency, Highland Papua Province, the situation there is slowly improving, Papua Police Chief Spokesperson Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo said.
National Military (TNI) Commander Admiral Yudo Margono spoke about the obstacles to the release of Susi Air pilot Philip Mehrtens, who was taken hostage by an armed criminal group in Nduga, Papua.
“We are still trying to find the pilot, of course in this situation they (the armed group) will blend in with the community. As a result, the TNI must be cautious in carrying out its responsibilities in order to save Captain Philip,” Yudo explained.
He stated that because of the difficult conditions, the pilot’s rescue operation was still ongoing. Furthermore, the armed group constantly moves, frequently changing their locations. Yudo does not set a deadline for saving the pilot, stating that he does not want any residents to be victims of this operation.
The government is backing away from a military approach to free a New Zealand pilot held hostage by an armed Papuan separatist group, TNI Commander Admiral Yudo Margono said. Instead, he stated that authorities had chosen to allow negotiations with the insurgents to continue, as fears grew that using force in the rescue attempt would only repeat the mistakes made in previous failed operations.
“What’s happening now is a law enforcement operation and not a military one. We have opted for a law enforcement approach because there is a foreigner involved. We will continue with persuasion,” Yudo said as quoted by Kompas in Bali.
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has urged law enforcement authorities to investigate last week’s deadly riots in Wamena, Papua, triggered by rumors that a child had been abducted.
“We are encouraging law enforcement agencies to take steps towards uncovering what happened during the incident,” Komnas HAM Chair Atnike Nova Sigiro said in a statement calling on authorities to assist families of victims and survivors in recovering from the traumatic event.
The commission has also urged everyone to refrain from violence and instead use a pro-human-rights approach when responding to the incident in Papua, enlisting the help of community and religious leaders there to cool down tensions.
Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Coordinating Minister Mahfud M.D. confirmed that the team tasked with rescuing New Zealand Susi Air pilot Philips Mehrtens from hostage avoids physical conflict with the armed criminal group in Papua.
Mahfud said although his team already knew the location of the kidnapping, it had been unable to act because the New Zealand side had pleaded for no use of force in order to avoid drawing international attention.
Mahfud also stressed that the kidnapping had nothing to do with the apprehension of Papua Governor Lukas Enembe, who was a suspect in a IDR1 billion bribery and gratification case, or the recent establishment of Papua’s new provinces.
Papua Police Chief Mathius Fakhiri stated that his team had prepared two approaches to rescue Susi Air pilot Captain Philips Max Merthens, who was being held hostage by the armed criminal group, by deploying members in the field and establishing communication with community leaders. He also emphasized that if the negotiations fail, the security forces will take steps to enforce the law, but with human rights and the pilot’s safety as top priorities.
About a month before world leaders gathered in Bali for the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in mid-November, Indonesia’s anti-terrorism squad Densus 88 defused a fully-assembled bomb during a raid in Banten province on Java island, according to two government sources. The bomb was meant to target the summit, one of the sources told The Straits Times, though the tight security around the venue made it highly impossible for any militant group to penetrate the island.
“If anyone had been caught at the border crossing to Bali and the bomb exploded, it would have led to foreign delegates departing Bali quickly, ahead of the summit,” the source said.
In Indian submarine has, for the first time ever, docked in Indonesia, which is among the countries locked in a maritime dispute with China in the contentious South China Sea, as part of the continuing overall diplomatic-military outreach to Asean countries. The 3,000-tonne diesel-electric submarine, INS Sindhukesari, reached Jakarta for the ‘maiden operational turnaround’ after transiting through the Sunda Strait.
“Indian warships often visit Indonesia and other Asean countries. This first long-range deployment of a submarine underlines the operational capability and reach of the country’s underwater combat arm as well,” a senior official told TOI.
Indonesian Air Force Spokesperson Indan Buldansyah said Indonesia would receive five units of C-130J Super Hercules from the United States in the near future as part of the two countries’ bilateral cooperation.
The first unit will arrive on March 6, while the rest will arrive between July and October, and January 2024. He said the aircraft would meet Indonesia’s need for heavy transportation, personnel transportation, or cargo transportation.
Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) has taken delivery of the first of five Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 tactical transports at a ceremony in Marietta, Georgia. Air Force Chief of Staff Air Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo, accompanied by the Secretary General of the Defense Ministry Vice Air Marshal Donny Ermawan Taufanto, formally accepted the aircraft from Lockheed Vice President Rod Mclean.
On Saturday afternoon, an armed criminal group clashed with TNI and police officers in Ilaga, Puncak Regency, Papua, after the group burned down several houses in Kago Village. The joint team then went to the location where the smoke appeared, resulting in a shootout between the law enforcers and the armed group.
