John Haseman, Jakarta – The recent outbreak of serious ethnic violence in Indonesia's Borneo province of West Kalimantan has underscored the difficulties Indonesia's armed forces face in trying to maintain domestic stability in a period of unprecedented political change and economic crisis.

Defence spending cuts as a result of Indonesia's economic crisis have severely eroded military readiness. "Frankly speaking," an army officer told Jane's Defence Weekly concerning security operations in West Kalimantan, "we are badly under-funded."

Violence between West Kalimantan's native Dayak and Malay communities on the one hand and the transmigrant Madurese lasted more than two weeks late last month before security forces and combatants ended most of the killing. Roving bands of rioting locals badly outnumbered Indonesian army and police forces. Reinforcements were slow to deploy to the province.

Only six infantry battalions are regularly assigned to the expanse of Indonesia's four Kalimantan provinces. The Military Resor Command, headquartered at West Kalimantan's provincial capital, Pontianak, probably had only two assigned battalions totalling less than 1,200 men. Police forces in the province numbered less than 800.

Beset with religious rioting in far-away Maluku Province that required reinforcement from the Army Strategic Reserve Command, the army had few troops available to send to West Kalimantan and, more importantly, available strategic transportation resources were stretched thin. Some 2,000 extra army, marine and police forces eventually deployed to Pontianak from elsewhere in Kalimantan and from Java as strategic airlifts became available.

A military source estimated that the air force C-130 Hercules fleet's operational readiness rate last month was "considerably" lower than 50% because of a shortage of spare parts and delayed aircraft maintenance.

Criticism of the army has multiplied in the past year after revelations of major human rights violations during past military operations in Aceh, East Timor and Irian Jaya.

Under such pressures, the army is criticised as "gun shy" in asserting force to end communal violence because of the fear of more criticism in the event of civilian casualties.

"They say we are wrong if we use force against rioters to prevent further damage, but then they say we are also wrong if we don't use force and the damage is greater," a senior officer said.

As the 7 June national elections approach, the likelihood of political unrest will be even higher. The armed forces and newly-independent national police will face greater challenges in maintaining security.