On September 24, 2026, Indonesia officially took over Italy's decommissioned aircraft carrier "Giuseppe Garibaldi" and named it "KRI Sriwijaya", becoming the second country in Southeast Asia to own an aircraft carrier after Thailand.
Indonesia’s acquisition of aircraft carriers is mainly based on the following strategic considerations:
The former Italian aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived at the port of Tanjung Puri, north of Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 18. (AP file photo) First of all, Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands and a vast territorial sea spanning the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It needs to have ocean deployment, maritime surveillance and rapid response capabilities. Secondly, the Prabowo Subianto government actively promotes military modernization, hoping to use aircraft carriers to enhance naval combat capabilities and national prestige, and strengthen Indonesia's strategic position as the largest country in ASEAN. Third, the aircraft carrier can also serve as a disaster rescue platform, helicopter transportation and drone reconnaissance missions. However, the aircraft carrier Indonesia took over this time is more than 40 years old, and Indonesia lacks carrier-based vertical take-off and landing fighter aircraft. The actual combat capability may be limited, and subsequent maintenance and operation costs will also form a heavy burden.
However, Indonesia's acquisition of the aircraft carrier will still have a certain impact on the maritime power structure of Southeast Asia. For Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, the improvement of the Indonesian navy's ocean-going capabilities may prompt neighboring countries to re-evaluate naval construction and maritime security cooperation, especially in strategic waterways such as the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of Sunda and the Strait of Lombok. For the Philippines, the Indonesian aircraft carrier may become a new cooperation platform for bilateral maritime patrols, disaster rescue and joint exercises.
For Australia, the improvement of Indonesian naval capabilities will help strengthen security cooperation in Australia's northern waters, but Canberra is also concerned about Indonesia's future military deployment and strategic autonomy. It is worth noting that Indonesia has long pursued a "liberal and active" foreign policy and does not want to choose sides. Therefore, the acquisition of the aircraft carrier does not mean that Indonesia will join the US-led military alliance. It is more likely an attempt to increase Indonesia’s strategic bargaining chip in the competition between the United States and China.
Although Indonesia is not the main claimant in the Nansha Islands sovereignty dispute, China's "nine-dash line" claim overlaps with Indonesia's exclusive economic zone near the Natuna Islands, causing the two sides to face long-term disputes over fishery law enforcement and maritime rights and interests. After Indonesia acquires an aircraft carrier, it can enhance its maritime surveillance, intelligence collection and patrol support capabilities around the South China Sea by carrying helicopters and drones, and increase its control over the activities of China's coast guard and maritime militia.
The aircraft carrier can also serve as a maritime command platform to strengthen Indonesia's continued presence in the Natuna Sea. However, the ship lacks a complete carrier-based fighter wing and is still quite vulnerable to the Chinese Navy's missiles, submarines and aviation forces, so it is difficult to change the balance of military power in the South China Sea. Indonesia may use this to increase its influence in the ASEAN South China Sea Code of Conduct negotiations, but if deployed too close to the disputed waters, it may increase the risk of Sino-Indonesian maritime friction and rising crises.
The Papua region in eastern Indonesia borders Papua New Guinea. If the aircraft carrier is deployed to the eastern waters of Indonesia, it will help improve its maritime patrol, logistics support and disaster response capabilities in the Southwest Pacific.
The Indonesian Navy took over the former Italian aircraft carrier USS Garibaldi and renamed it "Srivijaya" for modernization. (AFP file photo) The core significance is to gradually move from archipelago defense to regional maritime power.
Island countries in the South Pacific often face the impact of typhoons, tsunamis and climate change. In the future, Indonesia can use aircraft ships to perform humanitarian rescue, medical transportation and international cooperation tasks, thereby strengthening diplomatic relations with Pacific island countries. As the United States and China continue to strive for influence in the South Pacific, Indonesia may use naval diplomacy to enhance its regional visibility and deepen security cooperation with Australia, New Zealand and Pacific island countries. However, Indonesia does not yet have a mature aircraft carrier ocean combat system, and deployment in the South Pacific is a potential option. In the short term, the main impact of the Indonesian aircraft carrier on the South Pacific will be diplomacy and non-traditional security cooperation, rather than changing the regional military balance.
The core significance of Indonesia's acquisition of an aircraft carrier is not to immediately possess ocean-going air control or strike capabilities, but to symbolize its strategic intention to gradually move from archipelago defense to a regional maritime power. Whether it can truly exert influence in the future still depends on carrier aviation, escort fleet, logistics maintenance and long-term financial investment. As far as the Indo-Pacific strategic landscape is concerned, Indonesia's most noteworthy role is that it has gradually become a regional maritime power with greater autonomy in addition to the competition between the United States and China.
Indonesia's H225M "Caracal" helicopter recently landed on the "Srivijaya" aircraft carrier for the first time, laying the foundation for the formation of combat capabilities. (File photo, taken from the Indonesian Navy Facebook)
