Bogor – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto chaired the inaugural session of the National Defence Council at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, Friday (7/2) afternoon.

Prabowo underlined the vitality of national defence for a country and that protecting the people is Indonesia’s national goal based on the 1945 Constitution.

‘In the preamble of our Constitution, the 1945 Constitution, the first national goal is to protect the entire Indonesian nation, and all the people of Indonesia. The first principle is the principle of protection, meaning the principle of defence,’ Prabowo explained.

The National Defence Council itself, Prabowo continued, has been mandated for a long time by Law Number 3 of 2002, on national defence, specifically article 15, on the establishment of the National Defence Council. However, Indonesia is only realising it now.

The mandate of the law was realised by Presidential Regulation No. 202 of 2024 on the establishment of the National Defence Council.

‘But we only realised it in 2024. This means that 22 years after the law was passed, we now have a National Defence Council as ordered by the law, in accordance with the mandate of Law Number 3 of 2002,’ Prabowo said.

Daily Chairman of the Defence Council Sjafrie Sjamsoedin reported to Prabowo on the occasion that the National Defence Council can provide proposals for policy solutions and strategic actions to the President of the Republic of Indonesia.

‘The National Defence Council in the context of national defence plays a role in formulating the general policy of national defence for 5 years,’ Sjafrie said.

To support the operationalisation of the National Defence Council at this time Sjafrie explained that the process of finalising the organisational structure and work procedures is being carried out by having three deputies.

‘Geostrategy Deputy, Geopolitical Deputy, and Geoeconomic Deputy and assisted by the secretariat,’ he explained. (RR)