PRESIDENT: INDONESIA MUST STRENGTHEN ITS DIPLOMACY, MILITARY

Jakarta, Feb. 26 (ANTARA) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Indonesia must strengthen itself in the diplomatic and military fields in the face of geopolitical developments at regional and global levels.

"In the future, we must carry out our diplomacy properly for the sake of the national interest. War is a last option," the President said when dedicating the Dwikora and Trikora monuments at the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Headquarters in Cilangkap here on Thursday.
At the same time, Indonesia must also strengthen itself in defense or military terms, the head of state said.
"Although Indonesia will prioritize diplomacy and soft power approaches, we must continue to develop our defense system. If we want peace, we must also be ready to wage war when there is another power threatening the integrity and sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic Indonesia (NKRI)," he said.
The world situation, including in the Asian region, would keep on changing and developing in the future, Yudhoyono said.
Therefore, the Indonesian nation must closely monitor and continuously prepare strategic outlooks, he said.
The President also said international relationships had changed in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC), New York, on September 11, 2001.
The WTC attacks had spawned new variants and constellations in international relations so that the essence, anatomy and dynamism of these relations were no longer the same as in the post-cold war era, he said.
"However, our national interest and tasks will never change. The main task of TNI will also never change, namely to protect the sovereignty and integrity of NKRI, regardless of developments in the region and the world," he said.
The president stated that each military operation carried out under Dwikora and Trikora in the past should serve as subjects for reflection and a source of hope for better prospects to develop the nation.
Dwikora or the People's Dual Command called for the strengthening of the defense of the Revolution during the Soekarno era, and supporting the struggle to liberate the peoples of Malaya, Singapore and Borneo.
Trikora or the Three People's Commands were launched by the late President Soekarno on December 19, 1961 among other things, to raise the Indonesian flag in West Irian (Papua).