The Indonesian Military says it will shift strategy and deploy troops from Java to areas near the nation’s borders as part of a defense rethink.
“The troops will be deployed to border areas, from Aceh and Kalimantan to Sulawesi and Papua,” Col. Sigit Priyono, the chief of the Defense Ministry’s State Defense Policy Development unit, said in Gorontalo on Wednesday, antaranews.com reported.
Sigit said the ministry was shifting from a “Java-centric” focus to responding to potential security and defense threats across the nation.
“Currently, the troops in Java outnumber those on the borders, which are more prone to security and defense disturbances,” he said.
Java is the most densely militarized province in Indonesia, with 1 soldier for every 0.8 square kilometers, as opposed to 1 soldier per 7 square kilometers in Sulawesi, 8 square kilometers in Sumatra, and 27 square kilometers in Kalimantan and Papua.