Indonesia, Hercules maintenance, and the neutrality question

(Pornomo Rovan Astri Yoga – Lowy the Interpreter) Indonesia is reportedly exploring opportunities to become a regional maintenance hub for C-130 Hercules aircraft. On paper, the proposal makes sense. Maintenance facilities promise technology transfer, industrial benefits, and stronger defence partnerships. For Indonesia, it also supports long-standing ambitions to strengthen domestic defence industry capabilities and expand its role within regional defence networks. Under normal circumstances – peacetime – such arrangements attract little controversy. States routinely host maintenance facilities and sustainment arrangements for military equipment. But wartime often changes the strategic meaning of infrastructure built during peacetime. Recent hostilities involving the United States and Iran offer a reminder of this reality. Modern conflicts rarely remain confined to immediate battlefields. Military operations increasingly spill into wider logistical systems and supporting infrastructure. States seeking to remain outside a conflict may nevertheless find themselves drawn into a broader operational picture. The issue becomes more difficult in the context of a future US–China contingency. – Indonesia, Hercules maintenance, and the neutrality question | Lowy Institute