Jakarta. Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan and his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar have conflicting views on the defense budget, Sunday’s election debate showed.

During the debate, Anies agreed to rival Ganjar Pranowo’s statement that Indonesia needed to increase its defense spending. However, this marks a striking contrast to his veep candidate Muhaimin’s stance on debt for weapons purchases. Earlier this week, Muhaimin -- popularly known as Cak Imin -- questioned why Indonesia should borrow huge amounts of money to buy weapons when there is no war.

“It is true that our defense budget is still incredibly low. [The ratio of our military expenditure to gross domestic product or GDP] stood at just 0.78 percent. I think the defense budget should range between 1 and 1.5 percent of Indonesia’s GDP. That is why we need to upscale our state budget and GDP,” Anies said at the debate.

Fellow candidate Prabowo Subianto immediately pointed out Anies-Muhaimin's conflicting views despite being on the same team.

“I’m quite surprised. A few days ago, your running mate asked why there is a need to buy weapons when we are not in the middle of a war. And now you are here agreeing to increase the defense spending,” Prabowo, who currently serves as the defense minister, told Anies.

The Finance Ministry recently reported an increase in the defense spending budget for the 2020-2024 period by around $4 billion (Rp 61.7 trillion) to $25 billion. The Defense Ministry gets Rp 139.27 trillion in the 2024 state budget, ranking second only to the Public Works Ministry with Rp 147.37 trillion.

Teuku Rezasyah, an international relations expert, earlier this week also commented on Cak Imin's statement.

“It is possible that Cak Imin cannot differentiate between a cold war and an actual war. What we are facing is a cold war. It makes sense that Prabowo made all that spending [for weaponries], as long as the purchases abide by governance and undergo feasibility studies. And that the aircraft are combat-proven,” Teuku told the Jakarta Globe by phone on Friday evening.

“Do remember the saying ‘si vis pacem, para bellum’. If you want peace, prepare for war,” Teuku said.

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