US funds Indonesian maritime training centre at edge of South China Sea to counter ‘domestic and transnational crime’
- Funding for the new US$3.5 million centre in Batam, in Indonesia’s Riau Islands, reaffirms Washington’s status as Jakarta’s closest defence and security partner
- Like its neighbours, Jakarta is caught in the middle of rising US-China competition, but is benefiting from it by maintaining good relations with both
The training centre will be owned and operated by Indonesia’s Maritime Security Agency, or Bakamla, one of the bodies tasked with overseeing its vast territorial waters and exclusive economic zone. Its parent agency is the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs.
Bakamla will use the centre to “improve our personnel capabilities in responding to the challenges of ensuring security and safety at sea”, according to Rear Admiral (Navy) Tatit Eko Witjaksono from the Indonesian military’s International Cooperation Centre.
The facility will include classrooms, office space and a vessel launch ramp, and can accommodate up to 50 students and 12 instructors.
“As friends and partners of Indonesia, the United States remains committed to supporting Indonesia’s leading role in advancing regional peace and security by countering domestic and transnational crime,” US ambassador to Jakarta Sung Y Kim said in a statement posted on the US Indo-Pacific Command website on Friday.