Indonesia’s plans to militarize Borneo
Indonesia aspires to become a major economic and military force in Southeast Asia. And Indonesia's choice to shift its capital might be seen as a first step toward achieving that aim. Moving the capital to Nusantara will have significant military and strategic implications, making Indonesia an impregnable fortress for regional rivals like Malaysia and China.
According to a Strategist report, Indonesia is planning to militarize Borneo through its new capital. Borneo is a strategically positioned island. In the north, it is shared with Malaysia and Brunei. Furthermore, it is adjacent to the Philippines' and Indonesia's three key archipelagic sea routes, which include the Lombok Strait and the Makassar Strait. To put the situation in perspective, more than 400 large ships (over 100,000 tonnes deadweight) transit through the Lombok and Makassar route each year, transporting around 36 million tonnes of cargo worth $40 billion.
Despite Borneo's strategic importance, Indonesia lacks solid defense facilities on the island. Currently, just 20,000 Indonesian military men are located in the region. There are a few naval and air force bases, however, they are all rather small and undeveloped for significant deployments. Indonesia has realized its error and has plans to fill the hole with its new capital program.
