INDIAN OCEAN’S POSITION IN

GLOBAL MARITIME FULCRUM (GMF)

DOCTRINE UNDER PRESIDENT
JOKO WIDODO’S LEADERSHIP:
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

PRESENTED BY:
WIRA ARIF BUDIMAN

at the 1st ICSGS 30 of November 2017

FACTS OF INDIAN OCEAN
AS INTERNATIONAL ROUTE
• Home to four critical access waterways-the Suez Canal, Bab-
el Mandeb, the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca.
• The ocean has on its rim 40 economically and politically
diverse countries of Africa, Middle East, Asia and Oceania.
• Petroleum is the dominant commodity in commerce in the
Indian Ocean region as it is shipped worldwide.
• Nearly half of the world’s seaborne trade is through the
Indian Ocean, and approximately 20 percent of this trade
consists of energy resources. It has also been estimated that
around 40 percent of the world’s offshore oil production
comes from the Indian Ocean, while 65 percent of the world’s
oil and 35 percent of its gas reserves are found in the littoral
states of this Ocean.
INDONESIA NEW FOREIGN POLICY:
GLOBAL MARITIME FULCRUM
(GMF) DOCTRINE

Five key areas of GMF are:

• Maritime culture
• Marine resources
• Archipelagic connectivity
• Maritime diplomacy
• Naval development
INDONESIAN STATESMAN
ABOUT INDIAN OCEAN
• “Indonesia wants the Indian and Pacific Oceans are safe
and stable for international trades and prosperity of all
nations, and neither to use as platform for natural resource
dispute, territorial conflict or maritime power supremacy.
The guarantee of security and safety are very important on
maritime route in Southeast Asia region, since three per
four of the SLOCs goes through Indonesian water
territory”. (The former Coordinating Minister for Political,
Legal & Security Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan).
• “From the strategic point of view, the 19th century was
determined by the Atlantic Ocean, the 20th century by the
Pacific Ocean, and the 21st century will be determined by
the Indian Ocean”. (Indonesia foreign affairs minister,
Retno Marsudi)
CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK

National interest:
Vernon Von Dyke states that
“National Interest is, that which states seek to
protect or achieve in relation to each other. It
means desires on the part of sovereign states”.
WHY THE INDIAN OCEAN DOES MATTER

FOR INDONESIA?

According to Indian Ocean Academic Forum (IOAF)

executive secretary John Nurifdin in 2015 said that the
potential of natural resources that contained in the
Indian Ocean is still neglected. He emphasizes that in
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 Mile in the
Ocean, there is a lot of potential of coal, minerals, and
oil. He stated that “For Indonesia, the region is a yard
that holds potential fisheries, marine ecotourism,
marine energy, mineral deposits and hydrocarbons”.
DOMINATION OF CHINA AND INDIA
IN INDIAN OCEAN
• India is considered to be the dominant power
in the Indian Ocean and it has over the past
decade continued to improve her power
potential and therefore, whenever there is a
Chinese presence and playing an assertive
role in the Indian Ocean, India will not hesitate
to take countermeasures.
• India’s strategic elites have often drawn
inspiration from a quote attributed to Alfred
Mahan: “Whoever controls the Indian Ocean
dominates Asia. The ocean is the key to seven
seas. In the 21st century, the destiny of the
world will be decided on its waters”.
COORDINATED PATROL BETWEEN
INDIA AND INDONESIAN NAVY IN
INDIAN OCEAN
Since 2002, India and Indonesian navy have been
conducting Coordinated Patrols (CORPAT) on
respective sides of the International Maritime
Boundary Line (IMBL) twice a year with the aim of
keeping this vital part of the Indian Ocean Region
safe and secure for commercial shipping,
International trade and legitimate marine activities.
The CORPAT has strengthened understanding and
interoperability between the two navies and
promoted net maritime security in the region.
INFLUENCING INDIAN OCEAN REGION
THROUGH IORA
• On 5-7 of March 2017, under Indonesia chairmanship in IORA
(2015-2017), the 21 member countries of IORA have signed the
Jakarta Concord at the IORA Leaders’ Summit. The document
titled “Promoting Regional Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable,
and Prosperous Indian Ocean” aims to lay the foundation and set
the course for cooperation for the organization of Indian Ocean
states in the coming years. Retno Marsudi stated that “Indonesia
is trying to contribute by putting a strong foundation in the
Indian Ocean through the IORA Concord”.
• Industry minister Airlangga Hartanto stated that “We are
boosting industrial investment because it is labor-intensive
sector with export orientation and import substitution. To expand
access to IORA member states’ market, which is mostly non-
traditional markets, can be conducted through the framework of
bilateral supply chain cooperation. Also, Indonesia will maintain
and manage marine resources with a focus on building marine
food sovereignty through the development of fishing industry”.
CONCLUSION
• Indonesia is seeking its way to become an influential country
both economically and politically between the two oceans of
Indian and Pacific.
• Indonesia, under Widodo’s administration, has focused their
interest in the Indian Ocean region more than ever as the
implication of Global Maritime Fulcrum (GMF) doctrine.
• Based on GMF doctrine, President Widodo seems more
interested to engage with IORA over ASEAN. In several times, he
also said that “If it’s not beneficial, I won’t do it…We’ll still meet
but not too much”.
• President Widodo’s effort to achieve its goal as a maritime nation
based on GMF doctrine in Indian Ocean has been going toward
right direction, although I argue, it goes slowly.