Defense budget proposed to increase to Rp 23.6 trillion<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Defense said here on Friday it would propose a
\n7.56 percent increase to its budget next year to Rp 23.6 trillion
\n(US$23.6 billion) from the current Rp 21.9 trillion.<\/p>\n
The increased budget would partly be used to finance defense
\nprograms aimed at maintaining Indonesia's sovereignty and unity,
\nit added.<\/p>\n
Based on the ministry's budget proposal, the fund allocated
\nfor these programs would be increased by more than 127 percent
\nfrom Rp 25.76 billion to Rp 58.59 billion.<\/p>\n
Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said the proposed budget
\nincrease for the programs was to empower the Indonesian Military
\n(TNI) to deal with \"heightened threats against the country's
\nsovereignty and unity\".<\/p>\n
He declined to detail what these threats were but said the
\nfunds would not include purchases of military equipment.<\/p>\n
\"Sovereignty is no longer an absolute value. We can see that
\nmore than 12 foreign states have put our territory under
\nsurveillance. So, efforts to guard the unity of this state are a
\nmust,\" Juwono said.<\/p>\n
\"It is a miracle that we are able to keep this vast territory
\nfrom breaking apart, should we look at the condition of our
\nmilitary, whose numbers and equipment are inadequate,\" Juwono
\nsaid, citing as a comparison Singapore that allocated twice as
\nmuch as Indonesia's defense budget to secure its 45-kilometer-
\nlong territory.<\/p>\n
The ministry's director general of defense planning, Rear Adm.
\nYuwendi, said the Army would receive the largest share of the
\nincrease of up to Rp 9.2 trillion, while the Navy and Air Force
\nwould get Rp 3.5 trillion and 2.7 trillion respectively.<\/p>\n
For the current fiscal year, the Army received about Rp 9.05
\ntrillion.<\/p>\n
Yuwendi said the Army received the largest share for the
\nwelfare of its soldiers.<\/p>\n
The Army has about 200,000 personnel, the Navy 35,000, and the
\nAir Force around 24,000.<\/p>\n
\"For the Army, we may also have to increase the allocation to
\nimprove soldiers' mobility when guarding border areas,\" said
\nYuwendi.<\/p>\n
\"The troop mobilization is part of our efforts to guard border
\nareas and would also help curb illegal logging that has caused
\nbillions of dollars in state losses each year,\" Yuwendi said.<\/p>\n
He said two Army elite units -- the Army's Strategic Reserves
\nCommand (Kostrad) and the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) --
\nwhich have often been deployed in the country's conflict-torn
\nterritories would be equipped with more sophisticated
\ninstruments, including GPS (Global Positioning Satellite)
\ndevices.<\/p>\n
\"We also want to ensure that in 2007, we can purchase two
\nsubmarines for our Navy. We already have an agreement with South
\nKorea (to do this). And for the Air Force, we would like to see
\nall of our Sukhoi jet fighters equipped with weaponry systems,\"
\nYuwendi said.<\/p>\n
Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration
\nbought four Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters, none equipped with
\nweapons.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/defense-budget-proposed-to-increase-to-rp-236-trillion-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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