Back
About RSIS
Introduction
Building the Foundations
Welcome Message
Board of Governors
Staff Profiles
Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
Dean’s Office
Management
Distinguished Fellows
Faculty and Research
Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
Visiting Fellows
Adjunct Fellows
Administrative Staff
Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
RSIS Endowment Fund
Endowed Professorships
Career Opportunities
Getting to RSIS
Research
Research Centres
Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
Research Programmes
National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
Future Issues and Technology Cluster
Research@RSIS Newsletter
Other Research
Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
Graduate Education
Graduate Programmes Office
Exchange Partners and Programmes
How to Apply
Financial Assistance
Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
RSIS Alumni
Alumni & Networks
Alumni
Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)
SRP Executive Programme
Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
Publications
RSIS Publications
Annual Reviews
Books
Bulletins and Newsletters
Commentaries
Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
Commemorative / Event Reports
Future Issues
IDSS Paper
Interreligious Relations
Monographs
NTS Insight
Policy Reports
Working Papers
External Publications
Authored Books
Journal Articles
Edited Books
Chapters in Edited Books
Policy Reports
Working Papers
Op-Eds
Glossary of Abbreviations
Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
RSIS Publications for the Year
External Publications for the Year
Media
2024 Indonesia Elections
Great Powers
Sustainable Security
Other Resource Pages
Media Mentions
News Releases
Speeches
Video/Audio Channel
External Podcasts
Events
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Think Tank and Graduate School Ponder The Improbable Since 1966
Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University
  • About RSIS
      IntroductionBuilding the FoundationsWelcome MessageBoard of GovernorsHonours and Awards for RSIS Staff and StudentsRSIS Endowment FundEndowed ProfessorshipsCareer OpportunitiesGetting to RSIS
      Staff ProfilesExecutive Deputy Chairman’s OfficeDean’s OfficeManagementDistinguished FellowsFaculty and ResearchAssociate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research AnalystsVisiting FellowsAdjunct FellowsAdministrative Staff
  • Research
      Research CentresCentre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      Research ProgrammesNational Security Studies Programme (NSSP)Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      Future Issues and Technology ClusterResearch@RSIS Newsletter
      Other ResearchScience and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      Graduate Programmes OfficeExchange Partners and ProgrammesHow to Apply
      Financial AssistanceMeet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other eventsRSIS Alumni
  • Alumni & Networks
      AlumniAsia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
      International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)SRP Executive ProgrammeTerrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
  • Publications
      RSIS PublicationsAnnual ReviewsBooksBulletins and NewslettersCommentariesCounter Terrorist Trends and AnalysesCommemorative / Event ReportsFuture IssuesIDSS PaperInterreligious RelationsMonographsNTS InsightPolicy ReportsWorking Papers
      External PublicationsAuthored BooksJournal ArticlesEdited BooksChapters in Edited BooksPolicy ReportsWorking PapersOp-Eds
      Glossary of AbbreviationsPolicy-relevant Articles Given RSIS AwardRSIS Publications for the YearExternal Publications for the Year
  • Media
      2024 Indonesia ElectionsGreat PowersSustainable SecurityOther Resource PagesMedia Mentions
      News ReleasesSpeechesVideo/Audio ChannelExternal Podcasts
  • Events
    • Connect with Us

      rsis.ntu
      rsis_ntu
      rsisntu
      rsisvideocast
      school/rsis-ntu
      rsis.sg
      RSIS
      RSS
      Subscribe to RSIS Publications
      Subscribe to RSIS Events

      Getting to RSIS

      Nanyang Technological University
      Block S4, Level B3,
      50 Nanyang Avenue,
      Singapore 639798

      Click here for direction to RSIS

      Get in Touch

    Connect
    Search
    • RSIS
    • Publication
    • RSIS Publications
    • Indonesian Coast Guard: Will It Surface Or Sink?
    • Annual Reviews
    • Books
    • Bulletins and Newsletters
    • Commentaries
    • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
    • Commemorative / Event Reports
    • Future Issues
    • IDSS Paper
    • Interreligious Relations
    • Monographs
    • NTS Insight
    • Policy Reports
    • Working Papers

    CO19164 | Indonesian Coast Guard: Will It Surface Or Sink?
    Siswanto Rusdi

    21 August 2019

    download pdf
    RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical and contemporary issues. The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced with prior permission from RSIS and due credit to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email to Editor RSIS Commentary at [email protected].

    SYNOPSIS

    Scores of drafts for the establishment of the Indonesian Coast Guard have been prepared, discussed and submitted to the President for approval since 2011. Yet the agency has not seen the light of day. When will it become a reality?

    COMMENTARY

    MANY PARTIES in the country have almost given up hope with the government’s decision to establish the Indonesian Coast Guard (ICG). Since the order was sanctioned by Law No. 17/2008 on Shipping, the Ministry of Transportation, as the government agency in charge of the establishment of ICG, has continually failed to implement the order.

    On the flip side, Indonesia really needs a coast guard to improve its law enforcement at sea which is currently being carried out by a number of agencies. Their overlapping jurisdictions is causing confusion among shipping players. This problem often ends up in massive and widespread corruption. This is the root cause of the current despair with the lack of action on the coast guard issue.

    Attempts at Formation

    To be fair, the ministry has not been standing still to fulfill its mandate. Scores of drafts for the establishment of the coast guard have been prepared, discussed and submitted to the president for approval. But, they were invariably sent back for rectification, reflecting political wrangling among the local authorities that have jurisdiction in the maritime domain.

    Amidst the situation, Badan Koordinasi Keamanan Laut (Bakorkamla) or Maritime Security Coordinating Body, the predecessor of Badan Keamanan Laut/Maritime Security Body, splintered and proclaimed itself as the Indonesian Coast Guard by virtue of Law No. 32/2014 on Maritime Affairs. Another manoeuvre which has created more despair than hope is to have a single law enforcer over the national waters.

    Bakorkamla’s decision was regretful since it was a constituent part of the establishment of ICG together with Kesatuan Penjagaan Laut dan Pantai (KPLP/the Indonesian Sea and Coast Guard), a director-level unit within the Ministry of Transportation. According to the law, the Indonesia Coast Guard is to be established by the merger of Bakorkamla with KPLP.

    That is why when the then Minister of Transportation Ignasius Jonan wanted to establish ICG, his plan was to elevate KPLP to a directorate-general position within the ministry. The idea was criticised because ICG is not the institution’s subordinate; as soon as it is set up, it will directly report to the Indonesian president and its head will have a minister-level status.

    Missing “Coast Guard” in the Law

    Law No. 32/2014 on Maritime Affairs, on the other hand, is the legal basis on which Bakamla, the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency, is constructed to deal with the wider ocean or maritime domain. It is a ministerial-level institution which reports directly to the president. Of 74 chapters, provisions relating to the organisation in question make up 18% (11 chapters). Additionally, those chapters were inserted subsequent to the initial draft of the law which did not contain them at all.

    In Indonesia’s legal system, to enact a new institution/agency as ordered by law, scores of regulation should be in place. For example, in hierarchical order, below the law there is a government regulation, or Peraturan Pemerintah (PP) in local parlance. Next is the Presidential Order or Perpres.

    In the case of Bakamla, there is no PP issued by the government until now. The agency only has a Perpres (PP No. 178/2014) signed by President Joko Widodo two months after he took up his presidency in December 2014.

    It is interesting to note that although the term Bakamla is translated into English as “coast guard” – and their personnel consequently consider themselves as coast guards – not a single mention of “coast guard” can be found in Law No. 32/2014 on Maritime Affairs. The agency presently is submitting a bill on Maritime Security to parliament to boost its muscle.

    New Hope

    Answering a recent media query on the unclear fate of the proposed Indonesian Coast Guard, the new Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said that he was willing to merge his office’s KPLP with all existing maritime security institutions in order to set up a single coast guard agency.

    He said he would let the Ministry of State Bureaucracy to execute it. After three years replacing Jonan as transport minister, and remaining silent on the issue, Budi’s statement was quite shocking. Yet, it is timely because it triggers a new hope in the public’s mind that Indonesia will finally have a real coast guard.

    Still, a commitment is not enough; so many things have to be done to make it a reality. Given Indonesia’s legal and political circumstances, the question then is what must be done by the government to quickly establish the Indonesian Coast Guard?

    The main problem in law enforcement over national waters is that there are many agencies having jurisdiction and assets like, among others, the National Police, and the Indonesian Navy. These institutions at times interdict commercial vessels asking basically irrelevant questions.

    For instance, they would order the captain to show the wreck removal certificate (WRC). It is really ridiculous since Indonesia is not a party to the Nairobi Convention on which the issuance of the certificate is regulated.

    If the Indonesian Coast Guard is to be set up, the power of the National Police and the Indonesian Navy, as well as other institutions such as the Customs, Ministry of Fisheries and so on, to intercept the vessels at sea must be firstly rightsized and then transferred to ICG as soon as it is enacted later. Consequently, amendment to laws relating to those powers is urgently required and the agenda for that is properly settled in the 2019-2024 parliament.

    The transport minister has set no timeframe for the merger of all existing maritime security institutions into a single coast guard agency. Neither has the Minister of State Bureaucracy. Hopefully, communication between the two ministers will be set in motion soon to finally bring to reality the establishment of the Indonesian Coast Guard.

    About the Author

    Siswanto Rusdi is founder and director of The National Maritime Institute (NAMARIN), an independent maritime think tank in Jakarta. He contributed this to RSIS Commentary.

    Categories: Commentaries / Country and Region Studies / International Politics and Security / Maritime Security / East Asia and Asia Pacific / South Asia / Southeast Asia and ASEAN

    Last updated on 21/08/2019

    comments powered by Disqus
    RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical and contemporary issues. The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced with prior permission from RSIS and due credit to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email to Editor RSIS Commentary at [email protected].

    SYNOPSIS

    Scores of drafts for the establishment of the Indonesian Coast Guard have been prepared, discussed and submitted to the President for approval since 2011. Yet the agency has not seen the light of day. When will it become a reality?

    COMMENTARY

    MANY PARTIES in the country have almost given up hope with the government’s decision to establish the Indonesian Coast Guard (ICG). Since the order was sanctioned by Law No. 17/2008 on Shipping, the Ministry of Transportation, as the government agency in charge of the establishment of ICG, has continually failed to implement the order.

    On the flip side, Indonesia really needs a coast guard to improve its law enforcement at sea which is currently being carried out by a number of agencies. Their overlapping jurisdictions is causing confusion among shipping players. This problem often ends up in massive and widespread corruption. This is the root cause of the current despair with the lack of action on the coast guard issue.

    Attempts at Formation

    To be fair, the ministry has not been standing still to fulfill its mandate. Scores of drafts for the establishment of the coast guard have been prepared, discussed and submitted to the president for approval. But, they were invariably sent back for rectification, reflecting political wrangling among the local authorities that have jurisdiction in the maritime domain.

    Amidst the situation, Badan Koordinasi Keamanan Laut (Bakorkamla) or Maritime Security Coordinating Body, the predecessor of Badan Keamanan Laut/Maritime Security Body, splintered and proclaimed itself as the Indonesian Coast Guard by virtue of Law No. 32/2014 on Maritime Affairs. Another manoeuvre which has created more despair than hope is to have a single law enforcer over the national waters.

    Bakorkamla’s decision was regretful since it was a constituent part of the establishment of ICG together with Kesatuan Penjagaan Laut dan Pantai (KPLP/the Indonesian Sea and Coast Guard), a director-level unit within the Ministry of Transportation. According to the law, the Indonesia Coast Guard is to be established by the merger of Bakorkamla with KPLP.

    That is why when the then Minister of Transportation Ignasius Jonan wanted to establish ICG, his plan was to elevate KPLP to a directorate-general position within the ministry. The idea was criticised because ICG is not the institution’s subordinate; as soon as it is set up, it will directly report to the Indonesian president and its head will have a minister-level status.

    Missing “Coast Guard” in the Law

    Law No. 32/2014 on Maritime Affairs, on the other hand, is the legal basis on which Bakamla, the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency, is constructed to deal with the wider ocean or maritime domain. It is a ministerial-level institution which reports directly to the president. Of 74 chapters, provisions relating to the organisation in question make up 18% (11 chapters). Additionally, those chapters were inserted subsequent to the initial draft of the law which did not contain them at all.

    In Indonesia’s legal system, to enact a new institution/agency as ordered by law, scores of regulation should be in place. For example, in hierarchical order, below the law there is a government regulation, or Peraturan Pemerintah (PP) in local parlance. Next is the Presidential Order or Perpres.

    In the case of Bakamla, there is no PP issued by the government until now. The agency only has a Perpres (PP No. 178/2014) signed by President Joko Widodo two months after he took up his presidency in December 2014.

    It is interesting to note that although the term Bakamla is translated into English as “coast guard” – and their personnel consequently consider themselves as coast guards – not a single mention of “coast guard” can be found in Law No. 32/2014 on Maritime Affairs. The agency presently is submitting a bill on Maritime Security to parliament to boost its muscle.

    New Hope

    Answering a recent media query on the unclear fate of the proposed Indonesian Coast Guard, the new Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said that he was willing to merge his office’s KPLP with all existing maritime security institutions in order to set up a single coast guard agency.

    He said he would let the Ministry of State Bureaucracy to execute it. After three years replacing Jonan as transport minister, and remaining silent on the issue, Budi’s statement was quite shocking. Yet, it is timely because it triggers a new hope in the public’s mind that Indonesia will finally have a real coast guard.

    Still, a commitment is not enough; so many things have to be done to make it a reality. Given Indonesia’s legal and political circumstances, the question then is what must be done by the government to quickly establish the Indonesian Coast Guard?

    The main problem in law enforcement over national waters is that there are many agencies having jurisdiction and assets like, among others, the National Police, and the Indonesian Navy. These institutions at times interdict commercial vessels asking basically irrelevant questions.

    For instance, they would order the captain to show the wreck removal certificate (WRC). It is really ridiculous since Indonesia is not a party to the Nairobi Convention on which the issuance of the certificate is regulated.

    If the Indonesian Coast Guard is to be set up, the power of the National Police and the Indonesian Navy, as well as other institutions such as the Customs, Ministry of Fisheries and so on, to intercept the vessels at sea must be firstly rightsized and then transferred to ICG as soon as it is enacted later. Consequently, amendment to laws relating to those powers is urgently required and the agenda for that is properly settled in the 2019-2024 parliament.

    The transport minister has set no timeframe for the merger of all existing maritime security institutions into a single coast guard agency. Neither has the Minister of State Bureaucracy. Hopefully, communication between the two ministers will be set in motion soon to finally bring to reality the establishment of the Indonesian Coast Guard.

    About the Author

    Siswanto Rusdi is founder and director of The National Maritime Institute (NAMARIN), an independent maritime think tank in Jakarta. He contributed this to RSIS Commentary.

    Categories: Commentaries / Country and Region Studies / International Politics and Security / Maritime Security

    Last updated on 21/08/2019

    Popular Links

    About RSISResearch ProgrammesGraduate EducationPublicationsEventsAdmissionsCareersVideo/Audio ChannelRSIS Intranet

    Connect with Us

    rsis.ntu
    rsis_ntu
    rsisntu
    rsisvideocast
    school/rsis-ntu
    rsis.sg
    RSIS
    RSS
    Subscribe to RSIS Publications
    Subscribe to RSIS Events

    Getting to RSIS

    Nanyang Technological University
    Block S4, Level B3,
    50 Nanyang Avenue,
    Singapore 639798

    Click here for direction to RSIS

    Get in Touch

      Copyright © S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. All rights reserved.
      Privacy Statement / Terms of Use
      Help us improve

        Rate your experience with this website
        123456
        Not satisfiedVery satisfied
        What did you like?
        0/255 characters
        What can be improved?
        0/255 characters
        Your email
        Please enter a valid email.
        Thank you for your feedback.
        This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. By continuing, you are agreeing to the use of cookies on your device as described in our privacy policy. Learn more
        OK
        Latest Book
        more info