Aristyo Darmawan – In August, Indonesia's largest maritime manufacturing company, the state-owned PT PAL, hosted a visit for US Congress Staffers from New York, California, South Carolina, West Virginia, Nevada, and Washington.
The meeting was aimed at exploring and strengthening cooperation between Indonesia and the United States, particularly in the maritime defence and industries sector. At the meeting, PT PAL stated that they were ready to provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for US Navy vessels operating in the Indo-Pacific region.
Considering the significant geopolitical implications of the project, Indonesia needs to very carefully calculate all the risks and opportunities before proceeding with this project. If Indonesia does decide to provide the MRO services to US Navy, it will be difficult for it to remain neutral should an international armed conflict occur in the region.
Maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) are essential operations for any navy. They enable vessels to be restored and repaired, ensuring they are in optimum working condition. MRO is important to ensure naval capability in the peace time, but it is obviously even more crucial during an armed conflict.
With increasing geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in hot spot areas such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, the United States has recently increased its military presence in the region, including by deploying a significant number of navy vessels. To ensure effective and efficient support for this mission, the US now needs more MRO services in the region. This is why in recent years it has increased MRO contracts for the maintenance of US military assets with traditional US partners and allies. These include South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Australia.
But now the US seems open to extending the MRO contracts way beyond its traditional military partners and allies in the region to non-ally countries such as Indonesia.
Indonesia's strategic location, which includes vitally important international seaways such as the Malacca, Lombok, and the Sunda Straits, is critically important for all navies operating in the Indo-Pacific. This explains why the US is keen for Indonesia to be part of its MRO project expansion in the region.
During the tariff negotiations with the US, an article by the IDN Times leaked that increasing maritime security cooperation was one of Indonesia's offers in its bid to win tariffs reductions from 32 to 19 percent. Although the final statement released by the White House does not specifically mention maritime security as part of the deal, if the US and Indonesia increase their maritime security cooperation in the years, the MRO project would be an effective way to start.
Certainly, the MRO project may have positive impacts for Indonesia. It will significantly increase the capacity and capability of the Indonesian defence industry sector, including through the transfer of technology, something that President Prabowo Subianto has been focusing on since he became defence minister. It will also emphasise Indonesia's role as a key player in regional security.
However, there are also at least three significant risks. First, The MRO project may intensify US and China rivalry in the region. China has always been suspicious of US naval presence in the region, and by offering MRO, Indonesia will be supporting US naval presence in the region. This will be a big blow to Indonesia-China relations and cooperation.
Second, Indonesia should be careful when deciding the location of the MRO, because it not only determines accessibility but also sends a political message. The recent repair facility built by the US in the Philippines, for instance, was built in Palawan city, directly facing the South China Sea. If there was a military escalation in the South China Sea, the facility would clearly support US assets involved in the conflict.
Third, it is important for Indonesia to discuss the detail of the MRO operations. What kind of military vessels will undergo MRO in Indonesia. Will they include battleships, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and corvettes? Or would only non-combatant auxiliary ship be accepted? This is very important because it would have direct implications for Indonesia's neutrality if armed conflict erupts between China and the US.
Since the 1950s, Indonesia has always asserted a 'non-aligned, free, and active' foreign policy, which does not allow it to be part of any military alliances with any country. It is hard to see how MRO arrangements could be compatible with this approach. If the US wants to use Indonesian MRO services during an armed conflict, it would be very difficult for Indonesia maintain its neutrality and not be dragged into the conflict.