On February 28, the United States and Indonesia finally held a ceremony
to commemorate the completed delivery of F-16 fighter jets to the Southeast
Asian state. Though the development is no doubt significant given the
importance of the initial deal for bilateral ties, it nonetheless masks the
continued challenges that remain for the two countries including in the defense
realm.
As I have
noted before in these pages, the United States and Indonesia have long shared a
defense relationship, and that has continued to broaden over the years with
some previous restrictions eased as well. U.S. policymakers across
administrations have recognized that for all the limitations inherent in the
U.S.-Indonesia relationship, Jakarta is nonetheless a significant actor in
Southeast Asia and an important partner in addressing a wide range of security
challenges. That pattern has continued on with U.S. President Donald Trump, as
evidenced by several developments including U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’
visit to Indonesia in January (See: “The New US-Indonesia Strategic
Partnership: Problems and Prospects”).
One of
the elements of the U.S.-Indonesia defense relationship is military equipment,
and a tangible example of that was the expected delivery of used F-16 fighter
jets from the United States to Indonesia. An initial deal was struck in 2011
under the Obama administration, and though it was merely one of many that
occurred under the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program, it was nonetheless
significant because it marked the largest transfer of defense articles in the
history of U.S.-Indonesia ties and was expected to boost Indonesia’s own
efforts to modernize its air force (See: “Can Indonesia Speed Up its Air
Force Modernization?”).
Though the
process of regenerating and transferring the F-16 aircraft to Indonesia was
always going to take some time, it has also taken much more time than both
sides would like and has not been free of controversy as Jakarta also considers
other options as well for its air force modernization needs. All the aircraft
were supposed to finally arrive by the end of last year, but some of them had
encountered delays which had prevented the official completion of the delivery
in its entirety. That has real implications for Indonesia, with officials
themselves admitting that it badly needs more aircraft to cover its vast
airspace and manage a range of security challenges.
On
February 28, the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) finally held a ceremony where it
officially received 24 F-16 fighter jets from the United States. As expected,
the handover ceremony was held at the TNI-AU base in Iswahjudi, Madiun and
witnessed by U.S. and Indonesian officials including Defense Minister Ryamizard
Ryacudu and U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph Donovan Jr.
Ryacudu’s
remarks at the ceremony cast the delivery of the F-16s as important for the
country’s development of its capabilities but also emphasized the need for
proper maintenance and operation of the aircraft to optimize its utility including
through proper training and usage. The Indonesian defense ministry said that,
as expected, 16 of the aircraft would be stationed at Squadron 16 at the
Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force base in Pekanbaru, Riau, while the remaining eight
aircraft would be stationed at Squadron 3 at Iswahjudi.
Donovan,
for his part, congratulated the TNI and called the move a sign that the
strategic partnership between the two countries “is getting stronger and
growing.” Though the move no doubt represents a boost for defense ties given
the significance of the deal itself, as I noted before, the attention to
individual advances in defense ties also mask broader uncertainties that
continue to remain about the future of U.S.-Indonesia relations under Trump as
well as Indonesia’s own
By Prashanth Parameswaran
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