Old military graduation clip falsely linked to controversial Indonesia 'sea fence'

Published on February 17, 2025 at 06:21
3 min read
By AFP Indonesia

Indonesian troops dismantled a controversial "sea fence" off the northwest coast of the archipelago's main island Java in January but footage of jubilant soldiers that ricocheted online is unrelated to the demolition. The clip shows a military graduation ceremony in September 2024.

"Kopaska elite force chanting before they dismantled the PIK 2 sea fence," read part of an Indonesian-language Facebook post on January 23, 2025, referring to the Indonesian navy's underwater demolition unit Kopaska.

The post -- which included a video of soldiers on a beach chanting while holding up their rifles -- surfaced after the Indonesian navy started taking down a controversial "sea fence" in a coastal area in Tangerang regency called Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) (archived link).

Local media reported the lengthy 30-kilometre (18-mile) wooden structure sparked outrage among fishermen in the area as it blocked their access to the sea (archived link).

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on February 6, 2025

It remained unclear who built the "sea fence" or owns the structure, with President Prabowo Subianto ordering a probe on January 20 (archived link).

Text overlaid to the video describes the structure as a "gift of gratitude" of former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to known supporter business tycoon Sugianto Kusuma, popularly known as Aguan.

One of Aguan's companies told Indonesian media it holds building rights certificates in the area but denied putting up the "sea fence" (archived link).

Jokowi said he supports an investigation on the legality of the construction of the structure, Tempo newspaper reported (archived link).

The video has also been shared alongside similar claims on Facebook and SnackVideo but it is unrelated to the recent controversy.

Military graduation

A reverse image search of the clip's keyframes on Google found a longer version posted on TikTok on September 27, 2024 (archived link).

"Cheer up first to light up the spirit," its caption read.

At the 4:33 mark of the TikTok video, a banner can be seen with the message: "The closing ceremony of Yudha Wastu Pramuka and the beret ceremony of infantry students 2024."

"Yudha Wastu Pramuka" is the motto of the Indonesian infantry corps in Sanskrit.

Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the TikTok video (right)

AFP reached out to the TikTok user who posted the video who said it shows a military graduation ceremony on September 22, 2024.

Subsequent keyword searches found a post published on the official Instagram account of the regional military regiment in the capital Jakarta on the same day about the event (archived link).

The same banner in the TikTok video can be seen in some of the photos included in the Instagram post.

Screenshot comparison between the longer TikTok video (left) and the Instagram post on Jakarta regional military regiment's Instagram account (right), with similarities highlighted by AFP

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