STATEMENT
CANCEL BALIKATAN!
JUSTICE FOR TOBOSO 19!
END VIOLENCE AND EVICTIONS IN NEGROS!
STOP PROXY WARS AND THE MILITARIZATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIA!
JAGA DECA Network (Indonesian-based civil society network committed to human-rights-based sustainable development, focusing on the protection and empowerment of communities and women, justice in natural resource management, social, and environmental sustainability)
JAGA DECA expresses its gravest concern over the escalating violence against civilians in the Philippines, which continues to worsen as the United States and its allies continue to expand their military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
We strongly condemn the killings in Negros on April 20, which claimed the lives of at least 19 individuals and forced hundreds of residents to flee. This event is part of the brutal and systematic counter-insurgency (COIN) operations that, in practice, target civilians, destroy communities, and perpetuate a culture of impunity.
We declare our full solidarity with the people of Negros and the entire Filipino people resisting state repression and foreign intervention. Negros is historically and economically significant as the nation’s largest sugar plantation hub. The subsequent expansion of oil palm plantations has further usurped the people’s living spaces. The people’s struggle for national sovereignty and liberation from the domination of foreign powers is both legitimate and urgent.
The Balikatan 2026 military exercises are more than mere defence cooperation. They are an instrument of US military expansion designed to consolidate hegemony and prepare for proxy wars in the region, particularly in its confrontation with China. By involving tens of thousands of troops and various allied nations, Balikatan serves as a combat testing ground that directly heightens the risk of open conflict.
In this context, Balikatan serves a dual purpose: on the one hand, as a projection of US global power and, on the other hand, as a justification for domestic military operations in the Philippines that consistently lead to human rights violations. Once again, civilians bear the brunt of this militaristic agenda.
For Indonesia, this situation carries real consequences. Military escalation in Southeast Asia threatens to disrupt strategic trade routes, including the Indonesian Archipelagic Sea Lanes (ALKI), which are the lifelines for national energy and logistics distribution.
Indonesia’s proximity to key corridors such as the Malacca Strait makes our territory increasingly vulnerable to geopolitical pressure and the military interests of major powers. Efforts to expand military access—including to strategic airspace and sea lanes—indicate that Indonesia is at risk of being dragged further into global conflict dynamics that do not align with the interests of the people.
The direct impact includes an increased risk of disruptions in energy distribution, rising fuel prices, and inflation of basic commodities that burden the lives of the people—especially fisherfolks, workers, and vulnerable groups. In the long term, the normalization of foreign military presence—specifically the US military and its allies—in the region poses a serious threat to national sovereignty and the principle of an “independent and active” (bebas-aktif) foreign policy.
WE ASSERT THE FOLLOWING:
- Condemn and Demand Justice for the killing of 19 civilians in Toboso, and for all forms of human rights violations occurring during military operations in Negros Occidental and other regions of the Philippines;
- Declare Unconditional Solidarity with the Filipino people in their struggle against repression and foreign dominance;
- Reject the Balikatan Military Exercises as a form of conflict escalation and a component of a proxy war strategy;
- Urge the Immediate Cessation of all forms of foreign military intervention in the Philippines;
- Call upon the Indonesian Government to take a firm stand in rejecting the militarization of the region, upholding the independence of our foreign policy, and protecting the interests of the people from the impacts of regional conflict.
- We refuse to let Southeast Asia become a battlefield for global interests. Regional security will not arise from war games and military dominance, but from people’s sovereignty, social justice, and international solidarity.
Long Live International Solidarity!
The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
Full Sovereignty For The People!