This is a historical analysis of the origin of the Indonesian National Army (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI), which plays an important role in the present Republic of Indonesia. More concretely, the purpose of this paper is to consider the historical meaning and character of Jawa Booei Giyuugun (Fatherland Defense Force of Java), which, at a later stage, became the basic source of the power of TNI.
Jawa Booei Giyuugun, generally called PETA (Tentara Pembela Tanah Air) in Indonesian, was a group of native troops organized in late 1943 by decree of the commander of the Japanese 16th Army, occupying Java at that time, and compelled to mobilize native power for it war effort. At first it recruited native youths as supplementary soldiers (Heiho) of the Japanese Army the course of time it became clear that only Heiho could not supply sufficient native support. Japanese military authorities then planned to form a volunteer Army consisting of only natives. In the occupied area of Southeast Asia this plan was first proposed in July 1943, by General Inada, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of Nanpoo Soo-Gun (Southern Area Armies), and it was accepted by Dai Hon Ei (General Headquarters).
Prior to this, some Indonesians had already had a strong desire to be armed in order thus to obtain military training in preparation for the future struggle for independence. The Japanese Army in Java took advantage of this atmosphere and by skillful means forced a nationalist politician, Gatot Mangkupradja, to submit a petition for the formation of an Indonesian volunteer army. Thus the decree of the 16th Army commander, ordering the formation of PETA, was issued “in order to respond to the strong desire of the Indonesian people.”
From late 1943 until the surrender of Japan, 69, Daidan (battalion) of PETA were organized throughout Java, Madura and Bali. Each battalion consisted of about 500 members, all Indonesian, with Japanese officers attached as instructors (Shidoo-kan). The Japanese officer had a big say in battalion affairs.
There were only three ranks of PETA officers: Daidan-choo (equivalent to major), Chuudan-choo (equivalent to captain) and Shoodan-choo (equivalent to lieutenant). The Shoodan-choo were particularly important because later this group formed the core of TNI officers and had a leading role in the struggle for independence that took place from August 1945.
Under the Japanese Occupation PETA officers assisted in giving military training to Indonesian youths. Semi-military organizations such as Hizbullah were also organized with the help of PETA officers. Through these opportunities PETA members had secret contacts with the youth groups (including underground groups) in the Indonesian society.
My conclusion is that PETA was not a simple puppet army of Japan but played an important role in the struggle for independence, and in real sense PETA formed the basis for the present TNI.
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