Armed Forces of Indonesia

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Flag of Indonesia.svg Armed Forces of Indonesia
Tentara Nasional Indonesia
Logo of the Armed Forces of Indonesia
guide
Commander in Chief : President Joko Widodo
Military Commander: Marsekal TNI ( Air Marshal ) Hadi Tjahjanto
Headquarters: Jakarta
Military strength
Active soldiers: 400,000
Conscription: 2 years
Resilient population: 52,997,922 (men)
52,503,046 (women)
Eligibility for military service: 16-49
household
Military budget: $ 8.07 billion
Share of gross domestic product : ~ 0.93%
history
Founding: October 5, 1945
Highest budget: $ 8.07 billion

Tentara Nasional Indonesia ( TNI ; formerly Angkatan Bersenjata Republic of Indonesia , ABRI ) are the armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia with headquarters in Jakarta . The current commander in chief is the Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto .

history

The Indonesian Army was founded by President Sukarno on October 5, 1945 as the People's Security Army . It drew its military tradition from the long conflict with the Dutch colonial rulers and the military culture of Japan that invaded Indonesia as a result of the long period of occupation during the Second World War . The first commander of the Indonesian army was a former member of the Dutch colonial army . His command was soon challenged by officers who had received their military training in Japanese paramilitary organizations such as the Peta . In mid-November, command was transferred to Sudirman, one of the Peta battalion commanders who also took on a leading role in the guerrilla movement against the Dutch occupation. When the Netherlands occupied Yogyakarta in December 1948, the Sukarno civil government surrendered, while the army embarked on widespread guerrilla activity. The impression originates from this period that politics is too serious a matter to be left to politicians alone. Independence was then viewed as a work primarily of the armed forces and not so much attributed to diplomatic maneuvers.

On July 20, 1950, seven months after Indonesia's independence, the Chief of the General Staff, Abdul Haris Nasution, ordered the division into seven military districts, each under its own command ( "Territorium dan Tentara" , T & T). Two were in Sumatra , three in Java , one included Kalimantan, and another for the rest of the eastern part of the country.

command Surname area headquarters
T & TI "Bukit Barisan" Aceh, North and West Sumatra, Riau Medan
T & T II "Sriwijaya" South Sumatra Palembang
T & T III "Siliwangi" West Java Bandung
T & T IV "Diponegoro" Central Java Semarang
T & TV "Brawijaya" East Java Malang
T & T VI "Tanjungpura" Kalimantan Banjarmasin
T&T VII "Wirabuana" eastern Indonesia (Sulawesi, Moluccas and Lesser Sunda Islands ) Macassar

These military districts were disproportionately large and had no historical or natural background, nor were they related to the military areas during the revolution. Extensive restructuring began between 1955 and 1962, resulting in 17 regional military commandos ( "Komando Daerah Militer" , KDM later "Kodam" ). (In 1974 Kodam XI (Central Kalimantan) was dissolved.) The reasons for this reorganization were mostly reactions to local crises in the mid-1950s and the efforts of the main command to increase its influence on the regional district commanders.

In December 1957, the first actions of individual officers began, which led to the PRRI / Permesta rebellion against the central government the following year . The "Banteng Council" came to power in West Sumatra on December 22nd and two days later Col. Simbolon formed a military junta to control West Sumatra. His Chief of Staff, Col. Djamin Gintings, who had the support of the main command, ousted him three days later, on December 27, but was unable to assert himself as his successor. Within three months, T & TI "Bukit Barisan" was split into three independent military districts, each with its own commander:

  • Lt. Col. Ahmad Husein led the “Banteng Council” in western and central Sumatra
  • Major Sjamaun Gaharu established a Kodam in Aceh
  • Col. Djamin Gintings was in command of the remainder of the T&T in North Sumatra

The autonomous regions of central Sumatra and Aceh were reluctantly recognized by the central government on March 31st. When a larger-scale rebellion broke out the following year, the Central Command initiated a decree on February 12, 1958 to freeze the command in Central Sumatra and sent troops to dissolve the “Banteng Council” . This ended with the creation of the 17th military command in March 1958, which was converted in April 1959 into the "Komando Daerah Militer III Augustus" . Shortly thereafter, the T & TI "Bukit Barisan" in Aceh, North and West Sumatra was officially divided as "Kodam I" , "Kodam II" and "Kodam III" .

On October 24, 1959, T & T III "Siliwangi" was divided into Kodam V - Greater Jakarta - and Kodam VI - West Java. T & T VI "Tanjungpura" on Kalimantan was divided into 4 different Kodam, of which Kodam XI in 1974 was given up again. The eastern area was split into five defensive areas, two for Sulawesi (North Sulawesi Kodam XIII, Central and South Sulawesi Kodam XIV), one for the Moluccas (Kodam XV), one for West New Guinea (Kodam XVII) and for the Lesser Sunda Islands with headquarters in Denpasar in Bali (Kodam IX).

During the 1950s, as a result of the country's political and economic crises, the idea of ​​the “middle way” developed, as it was formulated by the then Chief of the General Staff , Abdul Haris Nasution . This then led to the so-called " managed democracy " ( Guided Democracy ), but the military has been played again and again by the manipulative skills of Sukarno. This ended with the military coup under Suharto .

In December 1966 there were clashes between Indonesian and Portuguese armed forces. The Indonesians were burning in the colony Portuguese Timor belonging Oe-Cusse Ambeno some villages to the ground and fired at the Portuguese territory with mortars. Only the quick reaction of the Portuguese army seems to have deterred the Indonesian troops from further attacks.

The Indonesian army sees itself for its involvement in the murder of 500,000 to well over a million people, predominantly intellectuals, (alleged) communists, students critical of the government and parts of the Chinese population, in the massacre in Indonesia 1965-1966 and during the occupation of East Timor ( 1975–1999), in which nearly 200,000 Timorese died, faced serious allegations. The crimes of the Indonesian armed forces during the Suharto regime are still legally unresolved and socially almost unresolved.

In March 1983 new restructuring began on a larger scale. The offices of defense minister and chief commander of the armed forces were separated.

The army's right to meddle in politics has been enshrined in the constitution since 1982. After 100 seats in the 500-seat parliament had previously been reserved for military personnel, this was reduced to 75 seats in 1995. Tensions between Suharto and the military leadership may have been the decisive factor, as may Indonesia's stronger democracy. The tension between Suharto and the military was due to the fact that he and his family engaged in significant financial activities in Indonesia, making him one of the richest men in the country. This became apparent in 1990 when Suharto supported the formation of the ICMI (Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals), an organization that was critical of the military. The main concern of the military, however, was to succeed Suharto. For this purpose, the Vice President Try Sutrisno , an army commander and general, was installed in March 1993 .

Colacops

Kolakops were executive, operational commands that were used as an executive body for field safety. Kolakops reported directly to the commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. They were used in areas of civil war such as Aceh and East Timor. In 1993, the Kolakops special forces in East Timor were disbanded when the area lost its status as a special zone.

organization

Indonesian Marines during a training exercise in Hawaii, USA

The Indonesian armed forces consist of the Army Forces TNI AD , which form the armed forces, the Navy TNI AL and the Air Force TNI AU . Paramilitary units, such as the civil defense HANSIP, are not officially part of the armed forces.

The armed forces are composed of:

The commander in chief is the Panglima TNI (formerly Pangab ), which the state intelligence service Bakin (Badan Koordinasi Intelijen Negara) supports. The deputy position was Wapang TNI , but only existed from July 1999 to September 2000.

army

The structure of the army is made up of the command staff Mabes TNI , a general staff with Kasum TNI as a leader, to which the army intelligence service BIAS ( Badan Intelijen Strategis , formerly BIA) is subordinate, and a territorial staff. The position of the head of the socio-political staff Kassopol is equated with the head of the territorial staff , Kaster TNI .

At the level of the armed forces there is the Army Chief of Staff, Kasad or KSAD, with his deputy the Wakasad . The main Kotama commandos are subdivided below this and are divided into territorially bound and mobile army commands .

In the mobile units, the Kostrad strategic army command with its boss, Pangkostrad (or Panglima Kostrad ), currently occupies the more important position. Kostrad is divided into two infantry divisions (Divif 1 and 2) with a total troop strength of 25,000 men. Furthermore, the 6,000- strong Kopassus special unit , which is divided into five groups, is an important factor.

The territorially bound troops of the army are currently divided into twelve different military area commands (or military districts), which are referred to as Kodam with the Panglima Daerah Militer , or Pangdam for short , at the head. These are divided into Korems , which in turn are divided into smaller Kodims and even smaller Koramils . A Kodim corresponds to the civil unit of a Kabupaten , while the next larger area of ​​a Korem corresponds to the historical area of ​​a residence (Kaesidenan), which, however, has long been abandoned. A Kodam usually corresponds to a group of several provinces.

During their time together at the Akad TNI military academy (from 1970 Akabri, Akademi Angkatan Bersenjata Republic of Indonesia, before that AMN, Akademi Militer Nasional), important connections emerged between the army officers. Officers with the rank of colonel have a certain amount of power, but only when they reach the rank of general do they become really important people in the Indonesian army.

Higher ranks:

Stars designation abbreviation translation
* Brigadir Jenderal "Rest" Brigadier General
** Mayor Jenderal "Mayjen" Major general
*** Letnan Jenderal "Letjen" Lieutenant General
**** Jenderal general

The armed forces have been restructured several times since their inception, the last time in 1999 after the overthrow of long-time ruler Suharto . For a long time, the POLRI police units were also part of the armed forces. In April 1999 the process of outsourcing the national police began, which was formally completed in July 2000.

Civil support

In East Timor, the army made use of civilian forces in various ways during the occupation:

  • Hansip (civil defense): civil security forces who were armed and received a salary
  • Ratih (Rakyat Terlatih: "trained people"): civil security forces who, unlike the Hansip, received neither armament nor regular payments.
  • TBO ( Tenaga Bantuan Operasi : Operations Assistant): TBOs had to accompany the troops to the front lines and carry ammunition and equipment. At times they also served as scouts and guides, sometimes also as spies in the zones held by the FALINTIL .
  • Wanra ( perla wan an ra kyat : popular resistance): militias financed, equipped and trained by the army.

equipment

Through cooperation with Indonesian manufacturers of military equipment such as Pindad and Hoverindo Nusa Persada , the military is able to manufacture a wide range of goods itself, such as: As machine guns , armed transporters, reconnaissance aircraft , helicopter carrier , corvettes , submarines and even hovercrafts are currently in the development phase.

marine

The Indonesian frigate KRI Karel Satsuit Tubin (KST 356)

In the 1990s, the Indonesian Navy acquired a number of ships from the holdings of the People's Navy of the GDR , including 16 Parchim-class corvettes , 9 Condor-class mine sweepers and 13 Hoyerswerda-class ships .

Larger ships of the Navy are also 6 frigates of the Ahmad Yani class , 3 corvettes of the Bung Tomo class and 4 corvettes of the Diponegoro class and 3 of the Fatahillah class . 4 Amphibious Transport Docks will be added from 2007. The Navy also has a large number of speedboats and supply ships . Two submarines of Cakra class are in service, 3 more submarines are under construction.

The Marine Infantry Corps Marinir (KorMar) has 70 light tanks of the type PT-76 , as well as armored personnel carriers of the types AMX-10P , BVP-2 and BMP-3 as well as personnel carriers of the types BTR-50 and BTR-80 .

air force

In 2005, had Indonesian Air Force to deal with a logistical crisis, when the supply of spare parts for the F-16 - combat aircraft and the A-4 Skyhawks- , accounted for about 80% of the fleet, of the part of USA was stopped. This was due to an embargo on human rights violations by the Indonesian army in East Timor. The embargo meant that most aircraft had to remain on the ground. The embargo has since been suspended because of the tsunami disaster in Aceh . Spare parts for non-fatal tasks and vehicles for humanitarian use can be supplied with it. On November 22, 2005, the US announced that it would resume military ties with Indonesia; this ended the six-year ban on the sale of military equipment.

Indonesian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft

In response to the embargo, the Indonesian Air Force bought two Sukhoi Su-27s and two Sukhoi Su-30s . Along with these fighter jets came AA-10 Alamo air-to-air missiles . A further 44 Su-27/30 were ordered, of which 2 Su-27SK, 3 SU-27SKM, 2 SU-30MK and 9 SU-30 MK2 are in use in 2015. The 15 American General Dynamics F-16 fighter planes are still in use, however, another 19 have been ordered. 14 BAE Hawk are also used .

The Indonesian Air Force also has transport aircraft and the like. a. of the type Lockheed C-130 Hercules (19 pieces) and CASA CN-235 , CASA C-295 and CASA C-212 Aviocar as well as a number of transport helicopters and the like. a. of the Aérospatiale AS 332 type .

Army equipment

vehicle Country of origin version number of pieces
Main battle tank
AMX-13 France AMX-13 275
Scorpion United Kingdom Scorpion 90 100
Armored personnel carriers
AMX-VCI France AMX-VCI M

AMX-VTT

200

182

Armored vehicles
Alvis Saladin United Kingdom FV-601 78
Ferret United Kingdom 55
M706 United States Commando V-150

Commando V-100

Commando Scout

58

50

28

Alvis Stormer United Kingdom AVLB 40
Armored transport
Cadillac Gage Ranger United States PeaceKeeper 1 200
BTR-152 Soviet Union BTR-152 150
BTR-40 Russia BTR-40ID 130
FV603 Saracen United Kingdom Mk3

Mk6

55
Véhicule de l'avant blindé France VAB VTT 46
Pindad APR Indonesia APR-1V 14th
Pindad Panser Indonesia APS-V1 10
P2 cougar Indonesia P2V1

P2V2

Others
VBL France 4X4 18th

Unarmored vehicles

Light equipment

Rifles

Pistols

artillery

Aircraft

vehicle Country of origin Type version number of pieces comment
Aero Commander 500 United States Transporter 680 3
Bell 47 United States Transport helicopter 47G 10
Bell 205 United States Transport helicopter 205A-1 10
Bell 412 United States Transport helicopter 412
412SP		 14th
14th
Britten-Norman Islander United Kingdom Transporter BN-2A 1
CASA C-212 Spain Tactical transporter 2
Cessna 310 United States Transporter 4th
Douglas DC-3 United States Tactical transporter C-47 2
Eurocopter Bo 105 Indonesia Transport helicopter 17th built by IPTN
Mil Mi-17 Hip-H Russia Transport & attack helicopters Mi-17-V5 16
Mil Mi-35 Hind Russia Attack helicopter Mi-35 Hind-F 8th 6 ordered
Swiss 300 United States Transport helicopter 300C 6th

Political role of the army

The military has strong political influence in Indonesia. Officers and generals who have reached the age of 55 retire from active service and are then considered purnawirawan ( retired officers). Unofficially, however, they still belong to the army. All civil offices and positions are open to them. After the fall of Suharto, many former officers have become members of the new parties and thus secure political influence. Prominent representatives are the former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or his challenger in the 2004 election Wiranto , who was Commander in Chief of the armed forces from 1998 to 2000.

The Indonesian military has long played a central role in the country's political life and served as a power base for former President Suharto , who usurped the military leadership in a military coup in October 1965. This enabled him a little later in March 1966 to gain state power. Sometimes one spoke of a "dual role" ( Dwifungsi ) of the military: firstly, it preserved the internal and external security of the state as a unified nation, and secondly, it helped the government to achieve its political goals for the good of the country (and of course also that of the country) Military). This authorized the military to intervene extensively in political events. Traditionally, a number of members of the cabinet, as well as a great many members of parliament, had a military career behind them. The commanders of the regional armed forces also often played an influential role in their respective territories.

Indonesia's defense budget only accounts for around 3% of gross national product . However, the military runs a number of companies and foundations that bring in additional money.

Since the confrontation with Malaysia (1963 to 1966) and the guerrilla war in East Timor (1975 to 1999), Indonesia has not had a major clash with a neighboring country. However, there are disputes over certain areas within the South China Sea and the Celebes Sea where large reserves of natural gas have been discovered. Under these conditions, the development of the military into an inward-looking organization was logical. However, there are plans by the military leadership to develop the Indonesian armed forces into a powerful external defense force.

In the post-Suharto era since 1998, the military advocated a withdrawal from political life and, in fact, their share has decreased significantly today.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Armed Forces of Indonesia  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CIA World Factbook. In: Indonesia. Central Intelligence Agency, June 12th 2009, accessed on 19 June 2009 ( English ).
  2. ↑ Frédéric Durand: Three centuries of violence and struggle in East Timor (1726-2008) (PDF; 243 kB), Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence, (online), June 7, 2011, accessed on May 28, 2012, ISSN  1961- 9898
  3. ↑ Chega! Report of the CAVR
  4. ↑ a b "Chapter 7.2 Unlawful Killings and Enforced Disappearances" ( Memento from November 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 2.5 MB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
  5. ↑ "Chapter: Violations of the Laws of War" ( Memento from September 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 534 kB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
  6. ↑ World Air Forces 2014. (PDF; 3.9 MB) In: Flightglobal Insight. 2014, archived from the original on December 25, 2013 ; accessed on March 26, 2014 (English).
  7. ^ "World Military Aircraft Inventory," Aerospace Source Book 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology , January 15 2007 .
  8. ↑ http://www.milaviapress.com/orbat/indonesia/index.php