Editorial: Indonesia Plans New Joint Military Commands

By Prashanth Parameswaran

Jakarta is reorganizing its military for the future. But specifics still remain unclear.

On Tuesday, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo held a limited cabinet meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta to discuss the ongoing modernization of the country’s military (TNI) and the national police.

One of the subjects discussed was the status of Indonesia’s new joint regional military commands – locally abbreviated Kogabwilhan – which are supposed to be in place by 2024. As I’ve written before for The Diplomat, the essence of the Kogabwilhan concept is to structure the military into multi-service regional commands consisting of a combination of army, air force and navy units and led by generals who would be able to respond quickly and flexibly to flash points with greater autonomy relative to the central leadership in Jakarta. The idea is not entirely new. Plans to begin implementing it had begun as early as 2008 under former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and Jokowi had agreed to continue with ongoing efforts last November.

According to The Jakarta Post, TNI commander General Moeldoko, who is overseeing the progress of this, said Jokowi reiterated his support for Kogabwilhan at the meeting but said “it should be done gradually.” 

Read the full story at The Diplomat