https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/10/us-approves-major-14-billion-arms-sale-to-indonesia
With its deals with the United States, France, South Korea, and India, Indonesia is taking strides to expand and buttress both its naval and air power. From the United States, Indonesia has bought 13.9 billion USD worth of F-15 fighter jets and fighter jet equipment. The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle (nicknamed the Sea Eagle) is an American-made fighter aircraft that proved its mettle with its success as a formidable weapon in the Gulf War. It is known for its maneuverability combined with hardiness and strong firepower, designed to have a superior ability to withstand all kinds of storms and weather conditions without sacrificing its power or agility. Obviously, it pairs quite nicely with sea power, something Indonesia is taking full advantage of as it seeks to bolster its relatively small navy to take firmer control of its surrounding waters while baking the navy up with the necessary support from the air. Meanwhile, from France, Indonesia has purchased 42 French Rafale fighters worth 8.1 billion USD and may also strike another deal with France for two Scorpene attack submarines.
As the fifteenth largest country in the world in terms of square miles, all of it a culmination of over 17,000 islands, Indonesia’s potential naval power is unparalleled when its geostrategic location is also taken into account. The South China Sea is a worldwide trade hotspot, and Indonesia controls some of its most vital port cities and sea passages, an influence that could very well increase as Indonesia follows this upward trend in its growth as a key regional and geopolitical power. In the struggle to claim the South China Sea, Indonesia is a viable contender for countering China’s attempts at engulfing the entire sea into its domain, and this has drawn support from the United States for Indonesia’s strategy for military development in the form of the F-15s and political statements. More than just the United States, Indonesian military advancement plays a larger role in the reaction of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, to China’s increased aggression over the past decade and increased tension in the South Pacific. The Quad is made up of Australia, the United States, India, and Japan and has come together after disbanding in 2007 in response to China’s intrusions in the South China Sea, mainly newly built military bases built off of shoals, small islands, and even some artificially made islands. In the past, the greatest weakness of the Quad was its inability to come together on a method to deter Chinese aggression and expansionism, and it will interesting to see how each member state expresses its view on Indonesia’s growing military, as India could be especially hesitant to have a rising power in Southeast Asia to which it has no particularly strong ties.
One very clear connection to International Relations is Sea Power Theory as it is being applied to this current situation. Indonesia is definitely playing to its strengths as an archipelago and making use of the power that comes hand in hand with being surrounded by ocean. Indonesia as a country is the bridge or the stepping stones between mainland Asia and the rest of Oceania, namely Australia and New Zealand. As with any bridge, it is a big deal if it is blocked, ie. if Indonesia were to command the seas of Oceania and direct the flow of trade, it could deny its enemies passage and guarantee safe passage to its allies.