Giuseppe Garibaldi
Summary
Recently, Indonesia acquired the Giuseppe Garibaldi, an aircraft carrier previously owned by the Italian Navy. The vessel was decommissioned by the Italian military in 2024. This acquisition makes Indonesia the second country in Southeast Asia, after Thailand, to operate an aircraft carrier. Across Asia, only China, India and Japan have carriers of their own. This acquisition is part of President Prabowo Subianto's push to modernise Indonesia's armed forces. When Subianto was still defence minister, he oversaw the procurement of fighter jets, missile systems, and warships. Being an archipelagic nation, Indonesia's geography itself warrants the need for an aircraft carrier to augment its hard power. According to a defence analyst, the vessel is capable of supporting both combat and non-combat operations. It will play a significant role in humanitarian projects and disaster relief missions.
Application
When one country increases its military capabilities to make itself safer, surrounding countries may come to interpret such a policy as a threat. As a result, everyone may feel less secure. This is known as the security dilemma, a realist international relations theory put forth by scholars John Herz and Robert Jervis. In the act of buying new military tools, the country may trigger an arms race, amplifying regional suspicion and mistrust. This makes accidental conflict more likely. Only time will tell if such a vessel risks destabilising the region.