Implementing Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s vague ambition to become the maritime power connecting the Pacific and India oceans — a so-called “global maritime fulcrum” (GMF) — will be an enormous challenge for Indonesia. Making matters worse, since the announcement of the GMF, there has been no detailed policy blueprint, even though efforts to realise the vision have been under way.

Indonesia’s National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2015–2019 has outlined the country’s maritime aspirations, but its focus on overall development policy makes it far too broad to serve as a guideline for GMF stakeholders. Likewise, the recent 2015 Defence White Paper contains only minor details on translating the GMF into tangible defence policies and strategies.

The absence of a comprehensive blueprint raises two main issues. First, it encumbers the coordination of GMF implementation as its pillars cross-cut into the jurisdiction of nearly all ministries and government agencies, making it a bureaucratic nightmare. Second, the concept is too nebulous. The absence of a clear master plan renders the GMF and its pillars vulnerable to multiple interpretations that suit stakeholders’ own parochial interests.

… Keoni Indrabayu Marzuki is a Research Analyst at the Indonesia Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, and Adhi Priamarizki is a PhD student at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto.