  Defense is a strategic aspect that is of concern to countries in the international constellation, including Indonesia. Indonesia has national interests in the defense and security sector, especially in terms of protecting its territory and citizens based on perceived threats from within and outside the region. Therefore, the main weapon system (alutsista) is needed to maintain stability and strengthen the country's defense to guard against threats originating from outside. So it can be said that the fundamental problem that drives Indonesia's defense diplomacy with Turkey in the defense equipment industry sector is Indonesia's national interest in maintaining defense and security. Minimum Essential Force (MEF) is a form of Indonesia's national interests in the defense and security sector. MEF (Minimum Essential Force) is the minimum standard implemented by Indonesia to maintain the country's sovereignty and strength. MEF is part of Indonesia's state defense policy and is a goal that must be achieved by the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces) to maintain the country's resilience and security. Not only that, the MEF also includes comprehensive strengthening of military capabilities, with a focus not only on building defense equipment but also on improving infrastructure and other resources. MEF was designed and implemented as a method to meet Indonesia's defense needs, with the aim of Indonesia reaching a minimum force capacity by 2024.
   One of the Indonesian government's efforts to realize the MEF is by collaborating with Turkey regarding the manufacture of defense equipment tanks. Turkey in the world defense industry is a new actor that has rapid development in its defense industry. Cooperation between Indonesia and Turkey in making tanks is seen as one way to achieve Indonesia's national interests in protecting the sovereignty and security of its citizens from various threats and to increase its military capabilities. This collaboration has succeeded in creating several important defense equipment (main weapons system equipment), such as the Tiger Tank.
National interest is a common and rational element that makes foreign policy based on national goals and interests. By achieving national interests, the condition of a country will be stable, both in terms of economics, politics and defense and security, in other words, if national interests are met, the country will continue to survive. The national interest that is relatively the same and that all countries wish to achieve is security which includes the survival of the people and their territory, as well as prosperity.
  Countries in the world are forced to survive in an anarchic international system. Countries are trying to strengthen their power, one way is by building defense independence. Indonesia is actively investing in the defense industry, because the country has experienced bad experiences due to dependence on defense equipment made by other countries and is trying to realize the resilience of central defense equipment. One of them is the development of the Harimau medium war tank with Trkiye. This is a strategy based on the pursuit of power, pursuit of wealth and pursuit of prestige. and is Indonesia's choice to build defense equipment resilience.
   Pursuit of power
   A country's decision to develop defense equipment independently is unacceptable, regardless of that country's desire to increase their strength. Indonesia is not the only country that is enthusiastic about increasing its country's defense capabilities through the development of defense equipment, one of which is the Harimau medium war tank. When the Harimau medium battle tank development program begins, the Indonesian government will achieve at least two things. First, the presence of medium battle tanks will increase Indonesia's defense capacity and accumulation of strength. Second, there will be increased military logistics security for defense.
   One of the best and newest medium war tanks currently is the Tiger Tank. This is due to the fact that, as the most recently created medium battle tank, the Tiger medium battle tank has advanced technology. According to the official specifications released by PT. Pindad and FNSS, the Tiger medium battle tank has STANAG 4 explosion protection capability and can be upgraded to STANAG 5 (FNSS, 2018). The current STANAG 4 protection capability allows the Tiger medium war tank to survive attacks from 14.5114mm caliber bullets fired from a distance of 200 meters at a speed of 911 m/sec. In addition, the Tiger medium-sized war tank was not destroyed by 10 kg warhead mines and was not hit by 155 mm artillery fire.
   The presence of the PULAT active self-protection system (APS) also increases the sophistication and prowess of the Harimau medium battle tank. The PULAT APS itself is a radar module that senses and detects approaching missiles or projectiles, which are then destroyed before they hit the tank (FNSS, 2019). The use of the PULAT APS will increase the capabilities of the Tiger medium battle tank in urban combat, which has become a major topic in recent years.
Pursuit of Wealth
   Despite the hope of gaining economic benefits, various countries developed their own defense and defense equipment industries. Advantages: The country hopes for economic growth, export opportunities, and industrialization. This is what is called the search for wealth. Indonesia developed the Harimau medium war tank because of this. The Indonesian government hopes that the development of the defense industry, including medium battle tanks, will generate economic benefits for the country.
Incumbents often tell their stories with the hope that Indonesia's economic growth will be driven by the defense industry's ability to manufacture high-quality and sophisticated weapons. Bambang Soesatyo, Chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR) from 2014 to 2019, believes that the development of Indonesia's defense industry must continue because it will encourage the country's economic growth. The Indonesian Minister of Defense from 2014 to 2019 also made similar statements. The two Indonesian officials stated that a strong defense industry would increase Indonesia's economic growth. Regarding labor and trade balance, the presence of a strong defense industry will help at least two aspects of the economy. A strong defense industry capable of producing modern defense equipment will not only absorb labor, but will also improve the quality of labor in Indonesia. The second factor is the sale of Indonesian agricultural industry products to other countries, which opens up export opportunities for Indonesia.
National Interest Turkey
