He was subsequently involved in the Permesta movement that sought greater regional autonomy from the central government in Java.

[1]: 155 Before World War II, Warouw was part of the Dutch colonial army (KNIL).

[5] Starting from 1946, Warouw was assigned several military positions including Chief of Staff of the 6th Division of the Sea Army of the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Tentara Laut Republik Indonesia (TLRI)) in Lawang and Chief of Staff of Base X of the TLRI in Situbondo.

[8]: 9  Because of continued grievances toward the central government in Java due to, among other things, the lack of regional autonomy, on March 2, 1957, Sumual declared the Universal Struggle Charter (Indonesian: Piagam Perjuangan Semesta (Permesta)).

In February 1958, Warouw and Sumual went to Tokyo to meet President Sukarno to force him to take action on the current crisis in Indonesia.

In April 1960, Warouw was captured and imprisoned by a fractious unit of the movement headed by Jan Timbuleng.