He argued that Indonesia's close position to the epicenter of the South China Sea conflict would make the nation vulnerable to proxy war and impacts of rivalries among the world's superpowers, particularly the United States and China.
"It is not impossible for the scale of the conflict in the South China Sea to escalate to an open war. If this occurs, then the surrounding nations will face severe economic impacts," Sukamta noted in his statement here on Tuesday.
According to the legislator, Indonesia should step up and raise its military capability to a higher level to make it have a stronger position.
The second challenge that the TNI will face is at the national level, specifically the increasing separatist movement in Papua and growing movement of religious extremism.
Sukamta said the TNI also needs to pay attention to a threat of disintegration due to political sentiment that points toward polarization. In addressing this challenge, the TNI should have more systematic actions that may resolve the root causes of the problem.
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He called to strengthen the role of non-commissioned officers in charge of village supervision (Babinsa) in bolstering the spirit of nationalism in the hearts of the people.
In addition, programs, such as Integrated Soldiers to Develop Villages (TMMD) targeting poor and outer regions, should be expanded, as they will strengthen unity.
The third challenge that TNI is facing is related to the swift development of technology that expands the national security dimension, Sukamta noted.
"Currently, the threat to Indonesia's sovereignty is not just in the form of armed resistance but also in the form of cyber warfare. This compels the TNI to strengthen its cyber security system," he remarked.
Sukamta affirmed that with these three challenges, the TNI should focus on reinforcing two aspects: improving the capacity of human resources and strengthening the national defense industry.
Hence, Sukamta believes that these two aspects will help move TNI to a higher level at the global stage.
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Translator: Imam Budilaksono, Fadhli R
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
