“A big nation like us,” Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto told the rank and file before him, “needs a strong military. No nation can be independent without having a strong military.”
In a speech before inaugurating military troops in West Java this month, Prabowo – the former special forces commandant – proclaimed that Indonesia must strengthen its defences to protect the nation’s sovereignty and resources.
Prabowo kicked off his presidency with a militaristic boot camp for his cabinet and now, just shy of a year in the job, the retired general is beefing up boots on the ground. One hundred new battalions have been established – with plans for 500 over the next five years – with new units also for the special forces and marines.
The 100 new battalions have been established to assist in agriculture, animal husbandry and food security, and will not receive combat training. A spokesperson for the Indonesian defence ministry said he could not release information about the size of the new battalions.
In the world’s third-largest democracy, the military’s expansion and its creep into civilian domains has drawn criticism from observers who say the move carries echoes of the country’s authoritarian past.
Indonesia threw off the shackles of authoritarian rule in 1998, when Suharto, the country’s dictator and Prabowo’s former father-in-law, was forced to step down after 32 years in power.
As part of the reform era that followed, the doctrine of dwifungsi, meaning dual function and which refers to the role of the military in security and civilian affairs, was dismantled.
But bit by bit, it appears to be making a comeback.
In March the Prabowo government passed a controversial law allowing armed forces personnel to hold more civilian posts. In addition to the 100 newly formed battalions, created as part of the army’s territorial deployment system, this July it was announced that the military will begin manufacturing medicines for public distribution, while within the attorney general’s office, a special taskforce that includes military officers has also been established to reclaim land from expired palm plantations.
The deepening omnipresence of the military in Indonesian life signals a worrying democratic backslide, says Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak research institute.
“Even without the formal dual function – dwifungsi – policy, you will see the military everywhere, having influence or control in politics, in policy, in government. They will be doing things that they are not supposed to do, where they have no expertise,” he said.
The Indonesian government strongly rejects the claim the military expansion signals democratic regression.
“The Indonesian military cannot interfere in civilian affairs. They don’t even have the right to vote in elections. So these accusations are completely exaggerated,” presidential spokesperson Hasan Nasbi told the Guardian.
“Indonesia is increasing its military capacity to safeguard its vast territory. Indonesia is not just a vast landmass and seas, but also comprises 17,000 islands separated by sea. Therefore, it requires a strong army, navy, and air force,” he said, saying the new battalions were needed to protect the country’s sovereignty.
But analysts note that Indonesia’s authoritarian turn began under former president Joko Widodo, and that his predecessor has continued the trend.
“Basically this is somebody who is governing in 2025 using a mindset dated from the 1980s,” said Yohanes Sulaiman, associate professor at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani, “All of these are initiatives that were done in the ’80s to improve agricultural output, to improve livelihood … basically, the military has to be involved in helping the development of the state.
“So this is a few steps backward in terms of professionalisation of the military.”
Putting farms in the hands of military units was inefficient and had, historically, proven counter-productive, he said.
“If you look at the role of the military, to be frank, they are not competent in doing this … If you want to be a farmer, then you have to live as a farmer. I mean, you have to be professional.
“This is … a huge military interference in civil affairs.”
The government says the military’s manufacturing of pharmaceuticals will make medicines cheaper, while the health minister has noted the new battalions could be utilised in natural disasters.
“This programme is part of a policy to continue developing the nation’s defence posture to optimise its efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security,” said defence ministry spokesperson Frega Wenas Inkiriwang.
“Historically, the unity of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) with the people is an inseparable part of the Indonesian national identity, especially since the total people’s defence and security system is mandated by the constitution.”
But political risk analyst Kevin O’Rourke of Reformasi Weekly said the addition of 100 new battalions wouldn’t add to military capacity and was “really perverse”.
“It dissipates the military’s strength, deploying personnel who are relatively small in number for a country of its size, and deploying them in every region down to the subdistrict level. So if they were needed to congregate at a particular point it would take them weeks to assemble.”
O’Rourke said the increase represented a further enmeshing of the military in civilian roles.
But, he told the Guardian, “the extension of the special forces units marks a genuine increase in military capabilities and on the budget too, when there have been a lot of cuts.”
Cabinet ministers have backed Prabowo’s plan, with finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati saying the country was committed to funding the new battalions, flagging a proposed defence budget of 335tn rupiah ($22bn) next year – about 37% higher than the 2025 forecast.
The approval comes as Prabowo’s austerity drive has precipitated violent protests in several areas across the country.
The new special forces unit will also be stationed at Timika, in Indonesia’s restive Papua, where Indonesian forces are accused of oppressing indigenous Papuans who have for decades fought for independence.
The location, said O’Rourke, “signals a possible heavy-handed approach to the situation there”.
The growing prominence of the military in Indonesia, said Supriatma, was indicative of Prabowo’s top-down rule.
“Prabowo has a high distrust for the civilian bureaucracy,” said Supriatma, “This feels like something he can do to have more control, to build up the military to influence people, or to scare people.”
