The Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) is over-stretched and under-resourced as the sole institution responsible for the security of Indonesia’s six million square kilometres of maritime jurisdiction. The government has therefore established the Maritime Security Coordinating Board (Badan Koordinasi Keamanan Laut, or Bakorkamla) to coordinate the activities of no fewer than 12 national agencies, or “stakeholders”, related to maritime security affairs.
However, as each agency often tends to go its own way regardless of Bakorkamla’s coordinating role, and given the multifaceted interests of the 12 agencies, the idea of Bakorkamla acting as a coordinating agency seems novel in Indonesia. Another instance is the Indonesian Sea and Coast Guard (ISCG), mandated by the 2008 National Law No 17 on Shipping, which has yet to be established as a single institution responsible for maritime law enforcement in Indonesian waters.
The TNI-AL is primarily responsible for the protection of Indonesian maritime sovereignty, particularly in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), while the National Police Marine Division is in charge of law enforcement in territorial seas. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Ministry of Transportation’s Sea and Coast Guard Directorate, Finance Ministry’s Customs and Excise Directorate General are tasked with marine environmental protection, navigational safety, port security and tax revenue, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Judicial and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam), Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Intelligence Agency, Indonesian National Defence Forces Headquarters (Mabes TNI), and Attorney General’s Office only maintain information coordination without committing any assets to sea.
However, Bakorkamla itself is beset with coordination problems due to parochial institutional interests, competition for resources, slow legal enforcement, as well as a lack of firm leadership. Thus the inter-agency relationship boils down to the survival of the fittest, with each agency vying for more authority, resources and privileges from the government.