Govt seeks more funds for military<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on Wednesday he was
\nproposing Rp 5 trillion (US$538 billion) in additional funds from
\nthe state budget to improve the capability of the Navy and Air
\nForce.<\/p>\n
He, however, could not say what kind of equipment that the two
\nforces needed, pending further meetings with the two chiefs of
\nstaff.<\/p>\n
\"We had actually talked about the plan to allocate more funds
\nfor the Navy and Air Force earlier before the Ambalat dispute
\nsurfaced. Indeed, the case has given us a chance to make the
\npublic understand about the real condition of our military,\"
\nJuwono said in response to questions of whether the new plan was
\ncaused by the naval confrontation with Malaysia two weeks ago
\nnear the Ambalat oil block off of Borneo.<\/p>\n
The offshore oil block is located in the Sulawesi Sea, and
\nboth Malaysia and Indonesia are claiming it.<\/p>\n
The defense budget of the world's fourth most populous country
\nis considered very low, even compared to smaller neighboring
\ncountries, such as Thailand and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
For the 2005 fiscal year, the government allocated over Rp
\n21.6 trillion for defense expenditures, accounting only for 6
\npercent of the state budget.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military does have approximately 400,000 active
\ntroops. But much of its military equipment is in poor condition.
\nIt has two squadrons of Hercules aircraft but only a handful are
\noperational. This has often been used by the TNI as a reason for
\ntheir slow response in sending soldiers and humanitarian aid to
\nareas hit by security disturbances or natural disasters.<\/p>\n
Air Force spokesman First Air Marshall Sagom Tamboen said his
\noffice had initially proposed that the government procure six
\nmore Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters and spare parts for the
\nHercules C-130 transport planes.<\/p>\n
\"The Air Force also requires maritime aircraft to support our
\nsurveillance planes,\" he was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Navy spokesman First Adm. Abdul Malik Yusuf said
\nhis office planned to procure submarines, missiles and patrol
\nboats equipped with rockets.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Djoko Santoso said he
\nwould improve the 22 new territorial commands across the country.<\/p>\n
The Army will recruit more soldiers, establish six more
\nbrigades, 14 infantry battalions, a Cavalry battalion, two
\nCavalry detachments and a missile detachment to strengthen its
\nforce, he explained.<\/p>\n
The Army also has a third division of elite troops based in
\nSorong, Papua.<\/p>\n
\"Ideally, we need more than 300,000 soldiers to guard this
\nvast territory,\" Djoko said. The Army now has around 270,000
\ntroops.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the Army's plan, Juwono said: \"Yes, we support
\nit. And if we have enough in the budget, we will also disburse
\nfunds for that.\"<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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