Oleh: Ian Montratama - Pagi hari 18 Agustus 1945, sebelum sidang Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia dibuka, Mohammad Hatta menarik empat orang ke ruang samping: Ki Bagus Hadikusumo, KH Wahid Hasyim, Kasman Singodimedjo, dan Teuku Mohammad Hasan. Persoalannya satu — tujuh kata dalam Piagam Jakarta, “dengan kewajiban menjalankan syariat Islam bagi pemeluk-pemeluknya”, yang membuat wilayah timur mengancam berdiri sendiri. Dalam hitungan belasan menit, tujuh kata itu dihapus

By: Ian Montratama - When Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Jakarta first week of July 2026, one item on the agenda deserves more public attention than it has received: Indonesia's acquisition of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, agreed in March and now reportedly expanding to a second battery. Beyond the headline of India's growing defense diplomacy, the deal signals something more consequential — Indonesia is finally assembling the hardware to match a strategic c

By: Fauzia Cempaka Timur and Curie Maharani - When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta, defense and maritime cooperation will undoubtedly top the agenda. Yet, beyond the symbolism of high-level summits, both nations urgently require a clear, long-term strategy to build a sustainable partnership, one capable of enduring successive changes in political leadership.

Indo Pacific Strategic Intelligence (ISI) welcomed a delegation from the Australian Department of Defence, led by Amb. Bernard Philip, First Assistant Secretary, International Policy Division, and Ms. Alanna McKay, Assistant Secretary, Southeast Asia Branch. The delegation was welcomed by ISI Founder and Chairman of the Advisory Council, Dr. Muhammad Hadianto, Director of Research and Development, Dr. Ian Montratama, and Advisor on Defence Strategy and Industry LTG (Ret) Dr.

Abstract The 2026 Iran conflict, involving U.S. and Israeli strike operations, Iranian missile-and-drone responses, and a wider regional dimension, highlighted several features of contemporary warfare that are directly relevant to Indonesia: massed drones and missiles, pressure on air-defense inventories, kill-chain competition, survivable launch networks, and the economic logic of the cost-exchange ratio. For an archipelagic state with vast maritime responsibilities and fini