The TNI's role in COVID-19 management in Riau Islands province

• Main Authors: Adhi Priamarizki, Nugroho, Sigit S.
• Other Authors: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
• Format: Commentary
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Social sciences::Political science; Riau Islands Province; COVID-19 Management
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/166190
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The Indonesian military (TNI) was widely involved in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in the Riau Islands province (KEPRI) by providing additional manpower, health infrastructure, and transportation for vaccines and medical kits. The dependence on the TNI’s facilities revealed the deficiencies in the KEPRI local government’s key apparatus, notably its medical infrastructure and the connectivity platforms linking it to the rural areas and outer islands. Meanwhile, the existence of new defence structures in KEPRI, such as the Joint Regional Defence Command I (Kogabwilhan I), did not automatically make them close partners for the KEPRI government in managing the pandemic in the province. Instead, KEPRI local authorities mostly worked with lower military commands based in the region as the involvement of Kogabwilhan I was mainly directed by the central government. This shows the limited influence that KEPRI government authorities have over Kogabwilhan I, and potentially over the newly relocated Navy First Fleet Command (Koarmada I), through the structures located in the province.