ABSTRACT
In recent years, the Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut or TNI-AL) has been making the headlines with their purchase of new submarines, their testing of the Yakhont supersonic anti-ship missiles, the commissioning of their brand-new SIGMA-class corvettes, and a whole host of other advanced platforms. As Indonesian waters are increasingly becoming a critical feature of the global economic architecture, regional military movements, and great power politics, these recent developments have raised numerous questions. Is Indonesia getting ready to become a regional naval power to balance India, China, and Australia? Why is the navy acquiring state-of-the-art complex platforms; some of which are considered offensive in nature, mightily expensive, and are unsuitable for its day-to-day operations? How do we make sense of the navy’s overall force development plans and projections?
