Why Energy, Data, and Perception Have Become the Grand Strategy of the 21st Century

By: Brigadier General (Ret.) MJP Hutagaol ‘86

INTRODUCTION:
THE WORLD IS CHANGING, BUT MANY STILL READ IT THROUGH AN OLD PARADIGM

When Donald Trump met Xi Jinping in Beijing in May 2026, the world was not merely witnessing an ordinary bilateral meeting.

International media focused heavily on:
trade wars,
Taiwan,
AI,
Iran,
rare earth minerals,
and semiconductor chips.

But beneath all of that, something much larger was moving.

The world is undergoing a major transformation in the way power operates.

Interestingly, around the orbit of the Trump–Xi meeting, the name Elon Musk also drew global attention.

This was not insignificant.

Because the meeting actually symbolized a major transformation of the 21st century:

Trump represents America’s political and military power.

Xi Jinping represents the rise of Chinese industry and civilization.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk represents the emergence of non-state technological power.

This means that global power today is no longer determined solely by states and armies.

Power is increasingly shifting toward:
AI,
data,
satellites,
digital platforms,
and global technology actors.

This is where the world is entering a new form of warfare.

A form of conflict that does not always begin with gunfire or military invasion.

But rather with efforts to control the foundations that allow nations to live, move, think, and shape their own future.

This is what I call:

FOUNDATION WARFARE.

TAIWAN:
THE DIGITAL HORMUZ OF THE WORLD

If the Strait of Hormuz is the world’s energy route,
then Taiwan is the world’s technology route.

Taiwan is not merely a small island in Asia.

Taiwan is the center of global semiconductor production.

And semiconductors today form the foundation of:
AI,
cloud computing,
drones,
radar systems,
satellites,
smartphones,
electric vehicles,
and modern military systems.

This means:
whoever controls chips,
has the potential to influence the future direction of global technology.

And whoever controls global technology,
has the potential to influence:
economics,
military power,
data,
and global perception.

This is why Taiwan today can truly be called:
“the Digital Hormuz of the world.”

Hormuz controls energy.

Taiwan controls technology.

This is where U.S.–China rivalry has evolved beyond a simple trade war into:
a struggle over the foundations of the modern world.

WHY DOES THE WORLD LOOK CHAOTIC, YET REMAIN DEEPLY CONNECTED?

Many people see global conflicts as isolated events.

The Russia–Ukraine war is viewed as a territorial conflict.

Iran–Israel is viewed as a Middle Eastern conflict.

Taiwan is viewed as an Asian geopolitical dispute.

Cyber warfare is seen merely as a technological issue.

Information warfare is often reduced to social media propaganda.

But if examined more deeply,
all of these conflicts are actually interconnected.

Because the world today is moving toward a struggle over:
energy,
data,
and perception.

And nearly all forms of modern warfare operate upon these three foundations.

FOUNDATION WARFARE:
THE GRAND STRATEGY ABOVE ALL MODERN FORMS OF WARFARE

For years, the world has become familiar with terms such as:

hybrid warfare,
information warfare,
cyber warfare,
economic warfare,
psychological warfare,
proxy warfare,
and AI warfare.

However, most of these concepts remain at the operational level.

They explain:
how wars are fought.

But they do not fully explain:
what is truly being contested in order to control a nation.

This is where Foundation Warfare differs.

Foundation Warfare focuses on:
the struggle over foundational systems.

Not merely attacking the surface of a nation.

But controlling the roots that allow nations to survive and function.

This is why Foundation Warfare exists at the level of:
GRAND STRATEGY.

While the other forms of warfare function as:
operational instruments beneath it.

THE THREE PILLARS OF FOUNDATION WARFARE

Foundation Warfare stands upon three primary pillars:

ENERGY.

DATA.

PERCEPTION.

ENERGY:
THE FOUNDATION OF MODERN SYSTEMS

Without energy,
nations collapse.

Electricity fails.

Industries stop.

Internet systems collapse.

AI systems cease functioning.

Economies weaken.

This is why energy warfare has become critically important.

We see this in the Russia–Ukraine conflict.

The war is not merely about territory.

It is also about:
gas,
energy routes,
and Europe’s industrial resilience.

We also see this in the Iran–Israel tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.

If Hormuz is disrupted:
oil prices rise,
inflation surges,
and the global economy trembles.

This means:
energy is no longer merely an economic issue.

Energy has become an instrument of geopolitical control.

DATA:
THE MAP OF MODERN HUMAN CONTROL

The modern world operates on data.

Whoever controls data,
can understand:
human behavior,
economic direction,
social conditions,
and political patterns.

This is why chip wars, AI competition, cloud systems, and satellite infrastructure are fundamentally:
wars over data.

The United States restricts China’s access to advanced chips because Washington understands:
whoever controls chips,
has the potential to dominate AI.

And whoever dominates AI,
has the potential to shape:
economics,
intelligence,
military systems,
and the modern global order.

In this context:
Starlink,
TikTok,
Huawei,
Google,
OpenAI,
and xAI,
must all be understood as parts of the struggle over global data foundations.

PERCEPTION:
THE FINAL BATTLEFIELD

Ultimately, human beings do not act solely based on facts.

They act based on what they believe to be true.

This is why perception has become the final foundation of modern power.

Media,
algorithms,
AI,
influencers,
religious narratives,
human rights discourse,
democracy narratives,
and social media virality,
have all become instruments of perception warfare.

In the Russia–Ukraine war,
what unfolds is not merely military conflict.

It is also a battle over global narratives.

In the Israel–Iran conflict,
the struggle is not merely over territory,
but over global moral legitimacy.

In U.S.–China rivalry,
perception warfare unfolds through:
media,
TikTok,
AI,
and competing narratives about the future of the world.

Because whoever controls perception,
can influence the social and political direction of modern humanity.

FROM HOUSEHOLDS TO NATIONS:
FOUNDATION WARFARE HAS ALWAYS EXISTED

Foundation Warfare is not entirely new.

Only its forms have changed.

Even within households,
the same three struggles often exist:

energy,
data,
and perception.

Whoever controls family finances,
controls energy.

Whoever knows the family’s internal conditions,
controls data.

Whoever is most trusted,
controls perception.

If these three foundations collapse,
a household can break apart without physical violence.

The same applies to nations.

The Dutch could never have controlled the Indonesian archipelago for centuries through military force alone.

Their numbers were too small.

Instead, they controlled:
trade routes,
elite structures,
economics,
social data,
and perceptions of authority.

The VOC,
Chinese captains,
local regents,
spice trade routes,
and colonial administrative systems,
were all mechanisms of foundational control.

As a result, the archipelago could be directed without full military occupation.

This means:
colonialism itself had already applied patterns of Foundation Warfare long ago.

Today, those forms have evolved into:
AI,
digital platforms,
chips,
cloud systems,
and global supply chains.

INDONESIA:
SPECTATOR OR STRATEGIC PLAYER?

This is Indonesia’s greatest question.

Indonesia possesses:
nickel,
energy resources,
strategic maritime routes,
a demographic advantage,
and a highly strategic Indo-Pacific position.

But if Indonesia fails to build:
industrial strength,
national AI capabilities,
energy resilience,
data sovereignty,
and national perception power,

then Indonesia will merely become:
a market,
a follower,
and an object of global competition.

But if Indonesia succeeds in building its own foundations,
then Indonesia can become:
an important balancing power within the emerging multipolar world.

CONCLUSION

Modern warfare can no longer be understood merely as military conflict.

Because today’s wars have evolved into struggles over:
energy,
data,
and perception.

This is the Grand Strategy of the 21st century:

FOUNDATION WARFARE.

Meanwhile,
hybrid warfare,
cyber warfare,
information warfare,
economic warfare,
and other forms of modern conflict,
are merely operational instruments on the surface.

Because ultimately,
nations that control their foundations,
will shape the direction of global systems.

And nations that fail to protect their foundations,
will eventually be controlled by the foundations of others.

Jakarta, 16 May 2026

Author:
Brigadier General (Ret.) MJP Hutagaol ‘86