Depok – Several democratic countries already have anti-espionage legal frameworks and policies in place to protect their national interests. Indonesia is also deemed to need to make immediate improvements to avoid being left behind in addressing this threat.
Edy Prasetyono, a senior lecturer and international relations expert at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia (UI), stated that espionage is a real phenomenon that has existed since ancient times. He believes the practice has always been present in relations between countries, seeking strategic advantage and defending national interests.
“Espionage is empirical. It really exists, and historically, it has existed since the Roman era, the Greek era, the Persian era, the Chinese era, the Egyptian era, and even today,” said Edy.
He explained that espionage practices continue to evolve with the times. While in the past, espionage was carried out through merchants and cybercriminals, similar threats now often occur through digital platforms and strategic data theft.
According to Edy, a number of countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, and Russia already have regulatory frameworks for anti-espionage and strategic information protection.
The man who serves as an Expert at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) believes that democratic countries actually have clear regulations regarding the protection of strategic information and counter-espionage.
According to him, regulations are needed to provide certainty regarding the definition of espionage, the authority of institutions, and the limits of protection of citizens’ rights.
“It must be a law. Because it’s at the legal level that rights and obligations are granted,” he said.
Edy emphasized that without clear regulations, the opportunity for abuse of power is even greater. Therefore, he is pushing for the creation of legislation to address this issue, including specific anti-espionage regulations.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Postgraduate Program in International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia, Ali Wibisono, assessed that Indonesia has often been the target of espionage operations, ranging from wiretapping to theft of strategic information.
He cited the high number of cyber attacks and information theft targeting Indonesia’s position on the South China Sea issue and intellectual property rights (IPR).
According to Ali, the lack of solid regulations has made counter-espionage efforts fragmented and prone to sectoral egos. This impact not only poses a security threat but also undermines international confidence in Indonesia’s ability to protect sensitive information.
“If other countries doubt the security of their information and technology in Indonesia, strategic cooperation could be hampered,” he concluded.*