ASEAN Economic Community Threats to Indonesia Defense Capability

ASEAN Economic Community  Threats to Indonesia Defense Capability

by David Raja Marpaung

ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is a form of agreement from the ASEAN countries to establish a zone free trade in order to improve the economic competitiveness of the region ASEAN to make ASEAN as a production base of the world and create markets regional for the 500 million inhabitants Impact Of the AFTA is a free market of Southeast Asia, known as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which came into force in 2015. for Indonesia, the deal could be a double-edged sword. If treated and managed properly, product and labor Indonesia has the potential to dominate the Southeast Asian market. Conversely, if it is not ready to compete, Indonesia will become a market for other ASEAN member countries. Most people identify with the MEA with the economy, whereas the Southeast Asian regional cooperation is not just necessarily in the economic sector. But also social, cultural and security.

 Euphoria MEA with all the expectations of the expected sometimes forget we will be impacts that may occur, regardless of the threat of layoffs for workers who can not compete with foreign experts and technological developments that we await, increasingly weakening efforts to lower middle class, and the drain on resources power by foreign parties also raised another fear for Indonesia in the field of security that could threaten the country's defense. Non-traditional threats such as terrorism, human trafficking, drugs trafficking, piracy and environmental crime as being a 'scourge' for Indonesia given the Homeland rated defense is far from robust and internationally. In fact until now is Indonesia's defense does not have a world class navy. 

Second is rampant human trafficking in Southeast Asia. Human trafficking or trafficking coercive so that it is illegal to do by any country not only in ASEAN. Human trafficking in clear violation of human rights, especially a lot of cases found persecute perpetrators or victims inhumanly treat victims. MEA forcing us to survive by competing with the foreigners  even invited into the Homeland, if not most Indonesian workers or unemployed will feel more and more depressed and marginalized. They are less educated groups who do not know a lot about human rights. The solution became TKI / TKW felt able to lift themselves out of misery in Indonesia. Though to be a necessary requisite legal migrant workers are complex, language (English) is good to support their skills in order to get paid work as expected. But due to lack of human resources in the community, they decided to join the illegal migrants which actually can be very risky in the future. Though liver intention to boost the economy - the individual and the state, but it is not a few cases caused by illegal workers.

 The third is the Drugs Trafficking. The ASEAN region has The Golden Triangle (United Nations, 2004), known to the world. Existence is undoubtedly on peranya in the distribution of drugs in ASEAN. Sea Piracy is a fourth threat. Given Indonesia is positioned geographically and has the busiest trade lanes in the Malacca Strait will allow increasingly rampant piracy. Even Southeast Asia has a number of sea piracy world's highest at 182 cases mostly occurred in the Malacca Strait, Indonesia. Even believed to be pirates in the region is more cruel than Somali Pirates. If the threat is more often the case, the export-import will be hindered. This certainly affects the Indonesian economy which should be able to market their products abroad instead hindered by pirates who rob standby merchandise from Indonesia and also contrary to the flow of imports.

 The latter is a threat Environmental Degradation. Say issue of smoke from Indonesia's neighboring countries are being discussed at this writing. Widely circulated on social media hashtag as if attacking Indonesia from Malaysia and Singapore. Constructivist view this issue as a phenomenon descuritization smoke, the theory linking the issue of why it was not originally constructed environmental issues become a security issue. This is certainly not free from government interference that initially the problem of smoke just become environmental issues but are in a blow up into a political and security issues of a country. It is also an impediment cooperation of international political economy which should occur as expected, but there are other factors that make neighboring countries hesitant to cooperate with Indonesia because they still hold a grudge. They will think that there are still nine ASEAN countries can deal with the economy than Indonesia.