Indonesia needs its Defense Ministry and the Armed Forces not only to deter external threats but also to deal with internal provocations, according to Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro.

"The existence of the Defense Ministry and TNI [Indonesian Armed Forces] is not only to face external threats. There is also what is called internal threats; terrorism and separatism and other threats necessitating deterrents," Purnomo said in a recent television interview carried by BeritaSatu TV, a sister company of the Jakarta Globe.

In a taping that aired on Thursday, he told the "Impact" talk show that besides terrorism and separatism, the country also faced newer "internal threats" such as cybercrimes and attacks.

"Nowadays, threats have developed," he said, adding that the military also played a role in non-war deployments, such as to assist in dealing with natural disasters.

He said threats to the nation were no longer limited to those posed by other countries, but they could now come from individuals or organizations and could be rational or irrational, as well as potentially asymmetric in nature.

Purnomo also said any country looking to boost its bargaining power on the world diplomatic stage needed a strong military. "Whether you like it or not, the deterrent effect, the effect provided by a defense power, will influence bargaining in diplomacy. The strong countries are those that conduct their diplomacy well, too," he said.

The minister said the involvement of the Defense Ministry or TNI in dealing with internal threats depended on the scale of escalation deemed appropriate. He cited as examples the sectarian unrest in Ambon and in Poso in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when soldiers were involved, but only in providing assistance to police.

In Aceh, however, where around the same time separatists put the nation's territorial integrity at risk, the military was directly involved.

That decision was bolstered by the declaration of a military operational zone in the region, Purnomo said. "It is clear that there are rules to the game," he added.

He said there were often misconceptions about situations in which the military was directly dealing with security issues, including in Papua, where pro-independence sentiment has been on the rise.

But Purnomo said in the restive eastern province, police were the ones responsible for safeguarding regional peace and security, with the TNI serving only as a backup force to assist law enforcement personnel. He said a law on national security being debated at the House of Representatives was expected to more clearly define the respective jurisdictions of the police and TNI.

Purnomo also said he hoped that if the law was passed, it could become the embryo for a National Security Council, to be headed by the president and to include among its members the heads of the TNI and the National Police. The ministers of foreign and home affairs as well as several representatives from civil society would also be included.

"The various threats from inside and outside the country would be addressed in this National Security Council," Purnomo said.