President Widodo promised to return Indonesia to a maritime power when he first took office in 2014. It was one of Widodo’s major platform policies and there was a lot talk about it in his presidential campaign that year and during the early part of his first term.

Intrigued by history, we often wondered, if Widodo hoped to bring back this maritime power, what did this power look like before? Where the kingdoms that controlled this region maritime powers themselves?

As part of our Independence Month series at Indonesia In-depth, we explore Indonesia's historical and cultural ties to maritime and how it impacts the government and military today with Dr. Evan Laksmana, a political scientist and senior researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta.

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