Last Sunday we witnessed the third presidential debate which discussed defense and security, foreign policy, and issues related to geopolitics. In the debate, the presidential candidates expressed their respective visions and missions regarding Indonesia’s defense and security problems which they would later raise. Candidate Pair 01 stated that they would focus on ensuring a sense of security for every family and inch of land in Indonesia by securing welfare by prioritizing welfare for the TNI, Polri and also State Civil Service (ASN) in the defense sector through official housing subsidies. Meanwhile, Candidate Pair 02 emphasizes free and active politics and improving the welfare and quality of life of the TNI, Polri and State Civil Service. In contrast to Candidate Pair 03 which emphasizes defense and security in the cyber world, according to him, today the cyber world is an invisible area but has a very dangerous impact on a country if the country does not have good cyber defense. Therefore, candidate pair 03 will also increase the defense budget to 2% of GDP to increase defense and security in the cyber world.
In fact, issues regarding defense and security are currently experiencing increasingly complex developments, where the areas that are the focus of defense and security no longer include land, sea and air areas. War is no longer just about “man power” and “land”, but in the current era it has developed into control of space and outer space. One of the medians in geopolitics that we never thought about, even though space holds various natural resources and median resources which are very useful for the progress of a country. The expert or father of astropolitics, Everett Dolman, once mentioned in his book entitled “Astropolitics: Classical Geopolitics in The Space Age” that control of space is considered more profitable than control of other areas such as land, sea and air. This is because control of a higher place or space makes the monitoring reach wider. Apart from that, according to Dolman, the space area is an area that is rich in resources of aluminum, titanium, iron, calcium, silicon, and so on that can be utilized. In fact, the outermost region of outer space orbit can also be used and utilized as a flight area for medium and long range ballistic missiles. The outermost orbital region is called the Lower Earth Orbit (LEO), which Dolman said is the vital region or pivot area (heart) of outer space.
Apart from the United States and the Soviet Union, Indonesia was once one of the countries in Southeast Asia that became interested in developing the field of outer space and space studies since 1962. This is what prompted Indonesia to form an Astronautics committee on May 31 1962, through the first minister Republic of Indonesia, Ir. Juanda, who at that time also served as Chairman of the Indonesian Aviation Council, and R.J. Salatun as Secretary of the Indonesian Aviation Council. On September 22 1962, the Republic of Indonesia then formed the Initial Scientific and Military Rocket Project (PRIMA) which was affiliated with the Indonesian Air Force (AURI) and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). Apart from that, Indonesia also succeeded in making and launching two Kartika series rockets and the Telematrix series. On November 27 1963, Indonesia then formed the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (LAPAN) which was formed based on Presidential Decree Number 236 of 1963. The formation of LAPAN aimed to develop aerospace technology which focused on ‘Sonda’ booster rockets, satellites, transport aircraft, observation aircraft unmanned (LAPAN Surveillance UAV), and LAPAN Surveillance Aircraft (LSA).
In 1973 Indonesia also became the 37th active member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space or UNCOPUOS. Indonesia always actively participates in sessions and various activities, with the aim of following developments in global space science and technology and taking advantage of opportunities that exist from UNCOPUOS activities for space development in Indonesia. One of Indonesia’s active participation is by participating in ratifying international space agreements and also actively supporting the use of outer space to be used responsibly for peaceful purposes, the benefit of humanity of all nations, and the long-term sustainability of outer space. In 2002, Indonesia also passed Law Number 16 of 2002 concerning ratification of agreements regarding principles governing the activities of countries in the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies.
Indonesia has also carried out several international collaborations related to the space sector, including in 2005 Indonesia signed the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) agreement. This APSCO collaboration was officially signed by 8 countries, namely China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Thailand. On October 2 2013, Indonesia and China signed an agreement regarding cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. Forms of cooperation include cooperation in satellite research and development, cooperation in providing satellite launches, cooperation in remote sensing, cooperation in training in space science and technology and others. This is done because based on Indonesia’s geographical, geostrategic and geopolitical position, the need to protect and safeguard the interests of the land, sea and air space above Indonesia is an important thing to do.
The development of astropolitical studies in Indonesia is experiencing increasingly visible changes, where Indonesia is also carrying out various collaborations and technological developments related to space. In March 2022, the National Research and Innovation Agency also formed the secretariat of the Indonesian Space Agency (INASA), which was previously under LAPAN. The aim of establishing INASA was to carry out several international obligations, including registering space objects belonging to Indonesia. In 2022, Indonesia will also carry out an astropolitical diplomacy program in collaboration with European Union (EU) countries in EU Copernicus. In this case, President Joko Widodo in his state speech said that Indonesia would begin to focus on astropolitical and space aspects by emphasizing research and development of experimental satellites which function for the use and utilization of communications satellites, remote sensing satellites and functioning satellites. to carry out orbit management and monitoring within the scope of security and defense of Indonesian satellite orbits in outer space.
So, why hasn’t Indonesia focused on astropolitical developments as the basis for its air defense? Looking at the territory of Indonesia itself, it consists of a land area of approximately 1,922,570 square km and an ocean area of approximately 3,257,483. square km, so the area of air space on land and sea in Indonesia is 5,180,053 square km, therefore control of air space is actually very important for Indonesia. It is known that Indonesia’s airspace also borders directly with a number of other countries’ airspace, including Australia (Melbourbe FIR and Brisbane FIR), Sri Lanka (Colombo FIR), Singapore (Singapore FIR), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur FIR and Kota Kinabalu). FIR), the Philippines (Manila FIR), the United States (Oakland Oceanic FIR), Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby FIR), and India (Chennai FIR).
Several regulations regarding the development of Indonesia’s air resilience and security are actually very clear and concrete, this can be seen through Law no. 21 of 2013 concerning Outer Space and Presidential Regulation no. 45 of 2017 concerning the National Space Master Plan. Security in the Indonesian space sector can be seen in the legal regulations governing space activities in Law no. 21 of 2013 concerning Space, especially regarding the definition of security, is regulated in article 1 paragraph 12. Looking at article 1 Paragraph 12 of 2013 concerning Space, Security is defined as all international efforts and commitments for every Space Operator to maintain and/or guarantee the use of space and other celestial bodies for peaceful purposes and not causing damage to the environment of the earth and outer space through the integrated use of human resources, facilities and procedures. Meanwhile, the threat perception is contained in article 8 of Law no. 21 of 2013, where Article 8 of Law no. 21 of 2013 concerning Space contains; any space activity is prohibited: (a) Placing, orbiting, or operating nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in outer space; (b) Carrying out tests of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in outer space; (c) Utilizing the moon and other natural space objects for military purposes or other purposes that are detrimental to humanity; (d) Carrying out activities that could threaten the Security and Safety of Space Operations including the security of Space Objects, individual and community interests; or (e) Carrying out activities that can cause pollution and/or damage to the earth and outer space environment and endanger space activities including damage to space objects.
In its development, Indonesia has also made several policies aimed at discussing the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, one of which is through Presidential Decree No. 16 which discusses Indonesia-Ukraine cooperation in the field of exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, which is an important This is a follow-up to the previous government agreement between the two countries in 2008. The Indonesia-Ukraine cooperation is in the form of an Agreement consisting of 16 articles and annexes, which also aims to increase social, economic and cultural development, as well as encourage trade and industrial cooperation between sectors. -private sector of both countries in the Space sector. Apart from that, on April 26 2019, Indonesian President Joko Widodo also stipulated Presidential Regulation Number 22 of 2019 concerning Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the People’s Republic of China Regarding Cooperation in the Exploration and Utilization of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes. In this case, China is Indonesia’s strategic partner in space diplomacy. There are several important points that have been agreed upon between the two countries, namely research and construction of experimental satellites for scientific purposes, remote sensing satellites and communications satellites; services for launching, tracking and controlling satellites including management and operations in orbit; research, development, use and utilization of satellite earth segment systems; space science research; and utilization and sharing of remote sensing satellite data.
This means that the current focus of Indonesian astropolitics is not on real air and outer space defense and security, but rather focuses on developing science and technology for the development of navigation satellites, remote sensing and various other communications satellites. This is different from several developed countries such as the United States, which already had the United States Space Force (USSF) during the administration of Donald Trump in 2018, and China, which already has a space armed force through the People’s Liberation Army, which focuses on space as one of the new form of modern war in geopolitics, because space has various resources that can be utilized and used as a flight area for medium and long range ballistic missiles.