DIGIVESTASI - During the third debate of the 2024 presidential election, Sunday (7/1/2024), presidential candidate number 2, Prabowo Subianto, said President Soekarno used second-hand combat equipment used in the West Irian Liberation War. "I remind you, when Bung Karno faced West Irian, all the equipment was old. Mr. Ganjar, Bung Karno, all the planes, submarines, cruisers, destroyers were all old. They are all old," he said. 

Prabowo's statement then made PDIP Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto speak up. He denied Prabowo's accusation about the purchase of used defense equipment during the Soekarno era. 
"Mr. Prabowo's declaration under Bung Karno also used used equipment, but the context was different. Bung Karno used a lot of new equipment to liberate West Irian, such as equipment from Yugoslavia, some of which was even used to liberate Algeria, he said. 

What are the historical facts of defense equipment during the West Irian War?

According to records, the West Irian War or Operation Three People's Commands (Trikora) is part of the process of liberating Papua by the TNI. At that time the Indonesian army wanted to occupy the Papua region which had been in Dutch hands since August 17, 1945. 
To support the operation, the Indonesian government then asked for military support from two major powers at that time, the United States and the Soviet Union.

But since the United States could not be expected to acquire advanced weapons to confront the Dutch in Papua, President Soekarno eventually turned to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc counterparts could hope to acquire more advanced weapons than the United States. Soekarno also sent two Indonesian officials to conduct diplomatic activities with the communist country in 1960. 

Maulwi Saelan admitted in the testimony of the Deputy Commander of Tjakrabirawa (2008: 292-293): "Bung Karno sent Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr. Subandrio and General Abdul Haris Nasution to Moscow to buy weapons for $250 million." 
In addition, another note was also revealed by historian M.C. Rickfles in the book Sejarah Indonesia Modern (1999). He noted that in January 1960, Khrushchev (Soviet Prime Minister) visited Jakarta and extended a $250 million credit to Indonesia. 

Then, in January 1961, Nasution (Indonesian Minister of Defense) went to Moscow and received a $450 million arms loan from the Soviet Union. All this was not in the form of money but in the form of military support with weapons. 
According to Ricklefs, most of the aid went to the Air Force and Navy, which Sukarno considered more cooperative.

Later, Indonesia received 12 submarines, 22 fast missile boats, 4 minesweepers and the KRI Irian, becoming the largest warship owned by a country in the "Southern Hemisphere". Meanwhile, the Air Force received dozens of supersonic fighters, MiG 15 aircraft, and Tupolev long-range bombers. 

However, it remains unclear whether Soviet military aid would come from the old fleet. One thing is for sure: Soviet aid made the Indonesian military stronger because it used weapons and warfare technology used by the superpower. The Indonesian army could be said to be on par with the Soviet Union. Whether the fleet was used or not, weapons support from the Soviet Union later defeated the Dutch army.  Irian 201 and dozens of submarines and bombers sank the Dutch ship HNLMS Karel Doorman. 

This success eventually earned Indonesia's respect and paved the way for negotiations over West Irian.