Navy expands drills to curb tin smuggling

The Indonesian Navy has stepped up maritime exercises and patrols aimed at preventing tin smuggling and protecting strategic natural resources, a senior naval official said on Sunday as quoted by Antara.

Rear Admiral Yayan Sofiyan, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff for Operations, said the navy has intensified anti access and anti area denial drills as part of broader efforts to strengthen maritime law enforcement.

The exercises support President Prabowo Subianto’s directive to tighten security in Indonesian waters and prevent illegal trade in valuable commodities, Yayan said during a ceremony marking the departure of a free Eid homecoming voyage aboard the naval ship KRI Semarang-594 in North Jakarta.

He said the concept of anti access operations, usually used during military conflict to disrupt an adversary’s supply lines, can also be applied in peacetime to block smuggling networks moving strategic resources out of Indonesian waters.

Read also: Navy seizes 496 tons of smuggled tin

The navy has focused enforcement efforts around the Bangka Belitung Islands, a region rich in tin deposits that has long faced illegal mining and smuggling activities.

To secure the waters, dozens of naval vessels have been deployed for patrols and interception operations aimed at preventing unauthorized shipments of tin and other protected resources.

Between 2025 and 2026, at least 28 Indonesian naval vessels conducted interception missions in Bangka Belitung waters, preventing about 448 tonnes of tin from being smuggled overseas, Yayan said.

The seized material was estimated to be worth about 146 billion rupiah (around $8.9 million).

Yayan said maritime enforcement operations in the region would continue as part of broader efforts to safeguard Indonesia’s strategic natural resources and prevent illegal exports.

Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of tin, and authorities have stepped up efforts in recent years to tackle illegal mining and smuggling.

Editing by Alexander Ginting