Indonesia

G

godofthunder9010

Active member
Can anybody tell me about the military capabilities of the 4th most populous nation on the planet? How is their standard of living. I know that they are strong in the resources department, though I don't have any particulars as to how strong. Seems to me that they have tremendous potential. What are everyone's thoughts?
 
They will have to start getting along better than maybe they will be able to become a power, the main problem is the fact that they are part islands wich makes ruling them kinda hard. However where thier is a population who supports the government then thier is a chance to become a world power.


I believe they have some western technology....not sure though.
 
How strong are they militarily? Seems like Indonesia would have high priority on Navy, but I haven't turned up much in the way of sources.
 
The Indonesian military isn't much to shout about. I lived there for a while. Their Marines seem pretty decent but for the kind of maritime country they are, the navy seems a bit of a joke. Their Air Force isn't very good, but they do have some F-16s.
Their army in general is poorly trained and lacks discipline.
Militarily they're not much.
 
They have numbers on the ground but I think there skills have much to be desired. There equipment is reasonable but I am no expert on this.

Australia has always been nervous about them.

We are working with them better on security matters since the Bali bombing. The new leadership seems more open and willing to work with Australia.

Their special forces (Kompasas?) will be working more closely again with our military in to the future.
 
The Indonesia Elite forces are Kopasas.
Australia's main worry about Indonesia's military is not that they're good at what they do, but that they're bad at what they do. If Indonesia's military was competent and professional, it would actually be one less thing for Australia to worry about. Problems usually come around because they're unable to handle their own situation or handle their situation in a very messy manner and in turn risk having the conflict spill over to Australia.
Indonesian equipment, except the Navy, is okay.
 
Thanks for that 13th redneck. Kopasas (must remember the spelling :) )

Yep, it is always a worry who has control of the Indonesian Forces. The country is so fragmented and ethnically complex.

Apart form Timor, there activities in Irian Jiya (West Papua) have been a worry with regards to Australian interests.
 
Irian Jaya.. gotta love it.
Independence movement, eco-activists, greedy corporation, corrupt government... only reason there's no James Bond film on it is probably because the local women aren't exactly the envy of the world.
Aussiejohn: look up Koteka. LOL
I still remember the East Timor incident... the UN were so slow that Australia surprised everyone by announcing it would go it alone if the UN kept dragging their asses.
I met lots of Australians while living in Indonesia and had a few games of Rugby with them as well. I played Ozzie Rules long ago but I can't quite remember how to play it anymore.
Having said that... it's Australia's most important back yard so I'm glad you're interested in Indonesia.
 
How long were you in Indonesia 13th Redneck?

Australia has had a rather chequered history with regards to Timor which I am not too proud of.

Our forces did well in Timor but unfortunately the worst of the killing was over by the time we put boots on the ground. I don't think we handled the thing at all well (politically) leading up to granting autonomy for East Timor.

I think Howard misread the indonesian leadership on the issue at the time.

I am an Aussie Rules man. Hate Rugby!!!!! :)

Carn the Cats (Hopeless Geelong Fan!!!! :lol: )
 
Aussie Rules always fascinated me because it seems like a cross of football, basketball and rugby. :lol:

I lived in Indonesia for about 6 years so I speak the language to a certain extent. It wasn't 6 years in a row, rather 1 year, then returned for 5.

Everyone reacted too late for East Timor. Australia was waiting for the UN and that's when all the killing was taking place. The UN worked in its usual fashion. I think it was probably here that I really started to dislike the UN. Not to mention UN workers often have this very elitist, snobbish attitude. They see themselves as heroes saving the world. A stupid attitude for a stupid organization.

Either way, Australia's going to be even busier with Indonesia. It's the one country in Southeast Asia where Al Qaeda can run pretty much free. In Malaysia and Singapore they crack down on them full time. In the Philippines there's a constant war against them and their likes. In Indonesia... nothing. They'll only be arrested if they actually blow something up. Megawati has no power over anything. Remember, she even failed to get elected the first time around.... and that was when her popularity was at an all time high. Just how the heck did she manage to not win that election? Incompetence.

So what can I say?
Have fun... :lol:
 
Our military have done exercises with the Indonesians over the past couple of decades, and as such, they haven't shown themselves to be very good at what they do. Timor was a source of big tension as the Indonesians were anti-autonomy, Australia was pro Autonomy... but ever since the bali bombing we have been working closer together, building up a better raport with their gov. Then we had the Mariot Hotel bombing and the bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta. These have created more strength rather than dissolved it.
As for military assets, the army is poorly equiped and trained, but the airforce has f-16 falcons and is looking at buying SU-27 and SU-30's from the Russians. So they are doing ok on the airforce front.
 
For the turf they're in, their equipment seems alright. Just there's a lot more to a military than just that. They seem to lack a sense of seriousness about their job. Often they lack professionalism. Not just military but just throughout the country it's a problem.
 
Listening to the news on SBS TV last night and the following survey results were released from Indonesia.

16% of a population of 220,000,000 believed that terrorist action was OK as long as it was for the protection of Islam!!!!!

Not sure how accurate the data is but if true it means there is a lot of work to do in the region.
 
I'm surprised it's only 16%... but also there's a large number (dunno percentage) who do not believe Osama Bin Laden actually attacked the WTC. There is a common belief that the Mossad did it to bring America into full scale war with Muslim countries. Amazingly makes a little more sense than the popular European view of the CIA doing it.
Not just a lot of work to do... this is potentially the next front line.

aussiejohn said:
Listening to the news on SBS TV last night and the following survey results were released from Indonesia.

16% of a population of 220,000,000 believed that terrorist action was OK as long as it was for the protection of Islam!!!!!

Not sure how accurate the data is but if true it means there is a lot of work to do in the region.
Click to expand...

And on Indonesia being an ally... it's government tries but has no power. The will of the people is completely different. Remember, Anti-Americanism is the in fashion ideology all around the world, this includes Indonesia.
Indonesia's not a great ally. It's really a mixed bag. I think the government realizes that radical groups are bad for the country's stability but continously find themselves unable to act.

Dameon said:
Interesting....btw was it Indonesia that was called a great allie in the war on terrorism...
Click to expand...
 
I know I'd heard that Indonesia is not 100% Muslim and that other religions play a significant role. Likely that there is some Christian and some Buddist (considering the location) but does anyone have the numbers on it? I appologize if I missed it in a prior post.

From what everyone says, it sounds like Indonesia is very disunified and pretty weak militarily. Quite interesting to find out more about.
 
Indonesia is overwhelmingly Muslim. There are Christians here and there but they usually don't hold power. A reason why Christian counts could be high is that many Batak groups in Sumatra are Christian. Then there are those here and there across the islands.
There are some Hindus but they too play a very, very minor role. Their main significance is that they own Bali, which is a huge income machine for Indonesia. If it weren't for this, they wouldn't be in the picture at all. Then there are also those tribal religions but they're in the places that again, hold no power.
For all practical purposes, it is a Muslim country.
Here are percentages:
Muslim: 87%
Christianity: 10%
Hinduism: 2%
Buddhism: 1%.


godofthunder9010 said:
I know I'd heard that Indonesia is not 100% Muslim and that other religions play a significant role. Likely that there is some Christian and some Buddist (considering the location) but does anyone have the numbers on it? I appologize if I missed it in a prior post.

From what everyone says, it sounds like Indonesia is very disunified and pretty weak militarily. Quite interesting to find out more about.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top