Indonesia’s establishment of its Mineral Industry Agency is critical in realising its vision of resource nationalism, independence in military production, and strategic autonomy. By establishing a national critical minerals supply chain, Indonesia can enhance its bargaining power as a global critical minerals powerhouse and reduce its dependency on imported weapons technologies and related parts. Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources designated 47 types of critical minerals in 2023. It defined them as those that were essential for the national economy and national defence and security, were exposed to supply disruptions and had no suitable substitutes. Among them were aluminium, copper, molybdenum, nickel, lithium and rare earth elements.
Indonesia’s critical minerals push is key to defence self-reliance | The Strategist
