Defense Minister’s Policy on Foreign Military Air Access Criticized, DPR Urged to Tighten Oversight

JAKARTA - The discussion on granting access to the United States military aircraft in Indonesian airspace has been criticized in a public discussion held by the Indonesia Youth Congress in Central Jakarta, Wednesday, April 29.

The discussion entitled "Indonesia's Sky is Not a Free Zone" highlighted issues of air sovereignty, national defense policies, to the geopolitical implications of the policy plan.

Public policy and good governance researcher, Gian Kasogi, assessed that the discourse could not be seen as a mere technical issue, but directly concerned the sovereignty of the state.

"This is a real test of how far the country dares to stand on principles, not just diplomatic compromises," he said.

Gian highlighted the "notification" based access scheme which is considered to have the potential to shift the position of the state from an active authority to merely a party that is notified. According to him, the change from the "permission" mechanism to "notification" has serious implications for operational control and defense independence.

He reminded that in global practice, the weakening of sovereignty often occurs gradually through loose and repeated technical policies.

Furthermore, Gian assessed that the policy of access to foreign military could not be separated from global geopolitical dynamics, especially the rivalry between the United States and China.

"There is no room for naivety. Policies like this will always be read as political signals," he said.

He also highlighted the lack of government transparency regarding the discourse. Until now, according to him, there has been no clarity regarding the scope of access, operational limitations, and monitoring mechanisms.

During the forum, Gian urged the government, especially the Ministry of Defense, to assert its veto right against any foreign military access, reject the concept of freedom of passage without active control, and open the policy framework to the public and the DPR for supervision.

"If the state can still regulate, limit, and refuse, then cooperation is a strategy. But if it only adapts, it becomes a dangerous precedent," he said.

This discussion also featured a number of speakers, including military observers Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, international relations academics Robi Nurhadi and Yuda Kurniawan, and international law lecturer Muhammad Reza Zaki. The activity was attended by students, researchers, academics, and the general public.