The Challenge of Cooperation in The Field of Defense and Security between The Indonesian Ministry of Defense And SAAB Sweden

            Cooperation between Indonesia and Sweden in defense and security relations is one form of cooperation that is common among countries. As we know, international cooperation between countries in the world is a common thing that has existed for a long time and has often been done with the aim of reaching agreements and getting mutual benefits in certain fields. Indonesia and Sweden that cooperate in the field of defense and security is one example of international cooperation that occurs between countries in the world. However, before focusing on cooperation in the field of defense and security carried out by Indonesia and Sweden, we should first find out the history of diplomatic relations between the two countries. As we know that cooperation in the field of defense and security carried out by Indonesia and Sweden is one form of cooperation that commonly occurs between existing countries and it can also be realized because of good diplomatic relations between the two countries. Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of Sweden have been established for a long time, namely since 1952 and continue to grow and evidence of the form of cooperation that has been established one of them is as in 2008, the Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of Sweden made a cooperation agreement in the field of Human Rights (HAM), which includes such as child protection and improvement of human rights in prisons. The existence of good diplomatic relations between the two countries made both continue their cooperative relations to the field of defense and security in 2015 which aims to maximize the potential of each country in the field of defense and security and as a new means of strengthening diplomatic relations between the two countries. Bilateral cooperation carried out by the two countries in the field of defense and security includes investment in the manufacture sector carried out through cooperation between PT. Lundin Indonesia and SAAB Sweden.

          This cooperation turned out to produce very good results, including through this cooperation Indonesia has completed the order for anti-radar patrol boats owned by the Indonesian Navy and not only that, SAAB and PT. Lundin Indonesia also received 18 ships on order for the Bangladesh Navy. The existence of excellent evidence of success from the cooperation carried out by the two parties then encouraged both to continue cooperation in the field of defense and security to maximize the potential of cooperation they could get. Furthermore, in early December 2016, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden officially signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of defense signed by the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia Raymizard Ryacudu and the Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Sweden Carl Anders Peter Hultqvist. The signing was carried out during the honorary visit of the Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia at the office of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, Jakarta. Through the signing of the agreement, the two countries want to enhance and strengthen existing bilateral relations through cooperation activities in the field of defense based on the principles of equality, mutual trust and understanding as well as respect for the sovereignty and territorial integration of the two countries. From the signing of the cooperation, there were also five scopes of the cooperation, namely first, the exchange of information and the introduction of issues of mutual interest including political and military aspects as well as international maritime security issues. Second, exchange information and best practices and promote cooperation between respective agencies in the field of research and development of science and technology and other related institutions. Third, namely the development of exchange cooperation and experience in the field of logistics support and maintenance. Fourth, support and development of cooperation in the field of defense industry that can be sufficient for technology transfer, joint research, joint marketing and also quality assurance. Finally, the development of activities that lead to cooperation in military medicine and military health services.

          The re-established cooperation between the two countries is proof of the success of diplomatic relations between the two. But as we know that not all success comes without challenges. On the implications of the implementation of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, of course, there are challenges that must be passed and resolved to ensure that this cooperation can continue. This existing challenge arises from the Indonesian side where in the defense and security cooperation agreement that has been agreed and agreed upon together Indonesia has the obligation to provide adequate infrastructure for the continuation of the cooperation, the infrastructure intended is to provide land as a place to manufacture assembly plants from materials that will be sent from Sweden to Indonesia. The provision of good and adequate land seems to be a challenge for the Indonesian side where in this case Indonesia of course must be careful and calculating about choosing the right location for the construction of the factory. This can be considered very crucial because in addition to having to find a location that is affordable and relatively easy to reach as well as extensive and adequate, Indonesia must also think about the right land location so that later the waste produced by the factory will not become a further problem that will hinder this bilateral cooperation or even to the detriment of Indonesia itself because it is feared that the waste from the factory that is not treated properly can cause damage which is quite large in the surrounding environment. Although it sounds like a thing that is not too complicated to problem, the fact is that the selection of the right and adequate land location and the existence of alternative waste disposal from the factory makes Indonesia feel quite difficult, indeed in fact Indonesia has a lot of large land that can be said to be suitable for the manufacture of factories that have been planned, but the calculation of these lands that can and cannot be used as a place For the manufacture of factories is still a debate, this is also influenced by considerations such as the distance or proximity of the factory from residential areas to whether the land is suitable to be used as a place for construction or manufacture of factories with the meaning that the construction or manufacture of factories on the land will not affect the surrounding environment significantly or even cause damage to the land around the factory area.

          From the existing challenges, of course, Indonesia continues to try its best to solve this. The existence of good diplomacy between Indonesia and Sweden in terms of the construction or manufacture of this factory seems very necessary to ensure that the construction of this factory will not provide losses for certain parties and will only provide benefits. To ensure the sustainability and continuity of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, it is basically required to have a good understanding of both sides of the challenges faced by each other and how both parties involved decide to face these challenges to continue existing cooperation. We must view challenges or problems as part of what we call international cooperation. Challenges or problems that arise in international cooperation are common in international cooperation, with challenges or problems in international cooperation countries or parties involved have the opportunity to further evaluate their own parties about how or what means they will use to solve existing challenges or problems to continue cooperation without having to harm certain parties.

           This article is based on its relationship with our paper entitled "Collaboration between the Ministry Of Defense and SAAB Sweden in the Development of Defense and Security Technology" in the Indonesian foreign policy class. The full name of the author of this article is Siven Trigveli Tambolang from the International Relations class (accreditation B) class of 2022 at Yogyakarta University of Technology. The reason why I chose international relations as my chosen major was because of my personal interest and deeper curiosity about how countries around the world work and how things themselves work with so many differences in them, that interest and curiosity ultimately brought me to this point. This semester, I have my favorite courses, namely Cyber Diplomacy, International Politics, and Chinese for Office and Business because it has given me the opportunity to learn one of the foreign languages that I am interested in. As for my own favorite lecturer, Mrs. Hidayat Chusnul Chotimah, S.I.A., M.A. who is very patient and kind because she wants to provide material understanding to me and also because she wants to listen to my opinion and provide solutions to problems in working on the tasks I face. Next is Mrs. Diana Ross Arief, S.P.d., M.A. who is also very patient and kind because she introduced and taught me Mandarin with a very good teaching method and easy to understand even by beginners like me. And the last one is Mr. Adi Wibawa, S.I.P., M.A who is one of the lecturers with a very high level of patience and a way of teaching that is easy to understand by me and his students. Last but not least the concentration I will take later is public, because of my interest in it.