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Abstract

This article critically examines Indonesia’s position in realizing its vision as a Global Maritime Fulcrum through an analysis of four main pillars of maritime power: maritime science, financial strength, maritime industry, and naval defense. The study is motivated by the paradox between Indonesia’s vast geographical and historical potential as an archipelagic state and its limited structural capacity to build modern maritime power. This research employs a qualitative descriptive approach using library research and critical analysis of academic literature, international data, and Indonesian maritime policy documents. The findings show that Indonesia still faces an epistemic deficit in maritime science due to low research investment and dependence on foreign data. From the financial aspect, national fiscal capacity has not been strategically directed to support long-term maritime transformation. In the industrial sector, the weakness of the national shipbuilding industry and the high dependence on foreign maritime logistics indicate the absence of a competitive maritime industrial base. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s naval defense is relatively strong at the regional level but remains defensive in orientation and lacks global power projection capability. This study concludes that Indonesia is more appropriately categorized as a maritime middle power because it has not yet succeeded in integrating the four pillars of maritime power in a comprehensive and sustainable manner.

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