Opinion on the Sovereignty, Diplomacy and National Defense

Indonesian-Malaysian relations have once again been marred by diplomatic tension. The main cause of the tension revolves around the same problems: what Indonesians see as a Malaysian breach of Indonesian sovereignty and perceived Malaysian arrogance towards Indonesia. This time, the tension was triggered by the arrest of three Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry officials by Malaysia, who were released at the same time as, if not "exchanged" for, seven Malaysian fishermen accused of illegal fishing in Indonesian waters.

As in previous cases, this latest incident triggered a wave of public criticism of Indonesia's weak diplomacy and a series of demonstrations in front of the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta. However, unlike previous cases, this time the Malaysian government openly expressed its displeasure. Malaysia's Foreign Minister Anisah Aman even threatened to issue a travel warning for its citizens and warned Indonesia about Malaysia's "limit of tolerance". At the same time, a diplomatic protest note sent by Indonesia's Foreign Ministry to complain about the arrest of the three officials was largely ignored by Malaysia.

Consequently, the public believed that Malaysia's attitude and response to the incident was caused by Indonesian diplomacy, which was perceived as weak. Previous Foreign Ministry protests have failed to prevent a recurrence of similar problems from disrupting relations between the two countries. The public continues to be annoyed by Malaysia's attitude, which is often described as insulting to Indonesian pride and disrespectful of the country's sovereignty.
Indeed, the problem becomes more complex when the question of national sovereignty is involved.

Malaysia clearly sees defending the seven fishermen as part of an obligation to defend its sovereignty. On the other hand, while Malaysia defines the notion of national sovereignty to include protecting its citizens, our understanding remains confined to a notion of sovereignty as merely territorial. Therefore, instead of showing a more firm attitude when defending the three officials, Indonesia's government framed the incident in terms of a dispute over maritime boundaries, thus reducing the problem to a debate on whether the incident took place within Indonesia's territory or not. Public criticism of the government's position and response in this case centers on a narrow understanding of national sovereignty as territoriality. The public was outraged by what they perceived as "an exchange" of seven Malaysian fishermen -- accused of illegal fishing in Indonesia's territory -- for three state officials. Instead of defending the three officials and moving to bring the seven fishermen to trial, the problem was reframed and reduced to a problem of territorial dispute. In fact, the problem of Indonesian-Malaysian relations is far more complex than that.

The public even became more puzzled by the speech of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the headquarters of the Indonesian Military on Sept. 1, which reiterated the importance of a diplomatic solution to the problem but failed to provide comprehensive policy guidelines on how Indonesia could protect its national sovereignty in the future and resolve the problems with Malaysia in a comprehensive manner. In any dispute that involves national sovereignty, diplomacy is necessary, but not sufficient. Diplomacy cannot by itself dictate, let alone force, another country to follow our wishes. Diplomacy as a political instrument cannot be employed independent of other elements of national power.

Here it is imperative for us to question and reflect on the state of our national defense as a multiplying effect that would enhance the efficacy of our diplomacy. There is no state in the world that could undertake effective diplomacy without the support of sufficient defense capability. Indeed the problem is, our defense capability is far from adequate. Significant increases in our defense budget over the last few years -- still far below the minimum defense requirement -- have not yet brought about significant improvement in our defense capability.

It seems that Malaysia's defense planners are not yet really aware of this important issue. After the incident over Ambalat a few years ago, it seemed we were all committed to undertake real reform to boost our defense capability. Yet, today, the Ministry concerned are busy insisting on another plan especially involved in strenghtening the political chairs without any clear indication on how it would boost our defense capability.

Therefore, we should not be puzzled if Malaysia finds it difficult to position itself as a respected nation among the international community, including Southeast Asia. We should not be puzzled also if many Indonesians look down on Malaysia. Anyhow, what been written is an opinion.