Are We Inviting Foreign Intervention?

Although nature drew the lines ages ago, perhaps not many people realize that our country consists of four strategic regions. Four out of the world’s seven vital sea lanes are found within our beloved Indonesian archipelago. The seven, also known as choke points, are the Panama Canal, the Straits of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, and the four in Indonesia: the straits of Malacca, Sunda, Lombok and Ombai-Wetar. According to the international law of the sea, those navigation channels can be used by any country in the world as sea lanes of communication (SLOC).

With such right of passage, any outsider sailing by can take a good look inside the country, because located at the world’s crossroads as such, it is “wide open” to international public scrutiny. Only three of the country’s provinces (Kalimantan, Papua, and Timor) share land borders with other countries. The rest of the territory, 360 degrees, opens up to the sea, which is commonly owned jointly by all mankind. Unfortunately, of 17,508 islands in Indonesia, only around 1,000 are populated. The remainder are uninhabited. As such, all our affairs are regulated by and take place in approximately 6 percent of our land area. Even more unfortunately, Indonesia consists of various ethnic groups that seem to have a penchant for a variety of conflicts.

Many of those conflicts take place near those world sea lanes. Is this coincidence? Indonesian Navy Rear Admiral (Laksda) Robert Mangindaan doubts this. If the conflicts clog up the right of passage, the international communities can be called in. It is fair to assume that SLOC-user states have contingency plans to confront such a situation. At seminars in the US and Germany, Mangindaan, advisor to the Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) analyzed the likelihood “of the choke points being obstructed”.

“If we are not able to guard the choke points, secure the SLOC, I’m afraid there would be other scenarios imposed on us,” says Mangindaan. “And the users are maritime powers more superior than us. Superior in remote sensing, mobility, and weaponry.”

Foreign Intervention

World conventions acknowledge the sovereignty of each country. On the other hand, they also recognize the rights of minorities to live and develop without pressure or force from others. The international community can jump in to arbitrate if a conflict between two groups causes humanitarian tragedy and breaks the peace between nations. Since the conflicts are domestic, such arbitration would be called intervention.

Protocol decrees that foreign intervention must be done through the United Nations (UN). The decision may be based on Article VI of the UN Charter on peaceful settlement and arbitration or judicial settlement. Or, it may be based on Article VII, which allows the use of force if the situation threatens world peace and security. The UN decision must be agreed upon by members of the UN Security Council (UNSC).

However, which article will prevail and how significant is its mandate? This depends on the specific interests of the superpowers. Regardless of the universal acceptance of human rights values, of democracy and environmental conservation, the predisposition of the powerful countries originate from three factors: whether their interests are safeguarded or threatened, what profits are to be gained, and to ensure those profits do not fall into the hands of parties other than their allies.

The global interests of the big countries are the determining factor when choosing between the sovereignty of a country and the fate of a minority group. In the case of Aceh, they supported Indonesian sovereignty. In the East Timor case, they sided with the minority group. Such selective and double-standard actions can also be seen in conflicts in the Balkans and among African countries. Observe their position on Tibet and China’s Tiananmen Square tragedy, as well as the fate of the Palestinian people.

The fact is that developed countries are more capable and ready from the aspects of military strength and funding. It is not difficult for them to obtain a mandate to establish a peacekeeping operation. Rear Admiral Mangindaan says it’s no secret that UN mandates are often based on the big countries’ wishes. “The Permanent 5 in the Security Council are influential,” he says. “But the country behind the Security Council’s decisions is one that is not just a superpower, but one that refers to itself as an indispensable state.” Other people call it the United States of America.

It may be an exaggeration to view peacekeeping operations as a guise for invasion. However, reality in the field proves that this argument is not baseless. A number of Asian countries maintain that the criteria used as the basis for intervention are merely excuses to conceal a form neo-colonialism, to play power games, and to benefit the national interests of the superpowers.

Our Own Fault?

The unity and union of Indonesia, which consists of some 300 ethnic tribes scattered around tens of thousands of islands “separated” by the sea, is still undergoing a difficult process fraught with upheavals. Aceh and Papua are indicative of the ongoing conflict between the central government and the provinces. In Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and Maluku the conflicts are SARA(ethnic tribe-religion-race)-based, forcing 1.3 million people to be displaced and live in refugee camps.

Some provinces have voiced a desire to separate themselves from Indonesia and these are being supported by group overseas. Other voices call for the United Nations to invervene. We can interpret this as follows: there are efforts to bring intra-state conflicts to a global agenda. There are even hopes that foreign powers will be compelled or asked to intervene.

In discussions at Aksara, where Rear Admiral Mangindaan and Rear Admiral Joost Mengko were speakers, accusations were even pointed inward: could intervention happen because of our own actions? We are being destructive with our lack of common views on important issues such as sovereignty, nationality, and the loss of government authority. Sovereignty and nationalism are understood differently by people of differing social strata as well as by the autonomous provinces. This is compounded by aspects of manipulative democracy, corruption, lack of good governance and weak national leadership.

Perhaps we ourselves are “nudging” towards a global agenda. Our own actions may be destabilizing peace and security. Another global agenda is weapons control and disarmament. Could the authorities be turning a blind eye to illicit small-arms trafficking, thus benefiting civil war or terrorism? Or perhaps we are powerless to prevent social and humanitarian tragedies which could affect the stability of the region.

The biggest worry is if the little kings in their little fiefdoms violate the sea lanes’ right of passage, which is clearly protected by the international law of the sea (UNCLOS, United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea). For that reason, provinces adjoining these navigation channels must be seen as strategic pillars to safeguard the country’s unity.

Rear Admiral Joost Mengko, formerly with Indonesian Military Intelligence, states that no one in the world wants to see the Republic of Indonesia disintegrate. However, if it turns out that we are headed towards such a situation, the superpowers may just say “It’s better that I handle it than allow other opposing interests to be there.” If indeed this country breaks up, people will come in droves and fight each other for the chance to rule. So that would go well with their interests.

“Why did Australia intervene in East Timor? That’s because Indonesia let it go,” said Mengko. “If Indonesia hadn’t done that, Australia would have continued to support East Timor as part of Indonesia. But because it was let go, rather than have it occupied or ruled by parties which they [Australia] wouldn’t like, they thought it would be better to intervene.”

Peacekeeping operations can also be seen as a tool for the superpowers to enter strategic regions. Indonesia is considered to be an attractive country. It is a vast area rich in natural resources and geographically advantageous. Its huge population means one gigantic market for certain kinds of products.

Translated from Kita Mengundang Intervensi Asing? by Daud Sinjal as appears in the January 6-12, 2003 TEMPO Indonesian edition

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