Indonesia and China to develop missiles<\/p>\n
Reuters, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia and China will work together to develop short-range
\nguided missiles as ties between the two large Asian countries
\nwarm, the official Antara news agency reported on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Research and Technology Minister Kusmayanto Kadiman, quoted by
\nAntara, said the idea had been around since 2002 but was only
\nmade concrete when Chinese President Hu Jintao met President
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta last month.<\/p>\n
The missile agreement would be signed when Susilo visits China
\nin June or July, Kadiman said, adding that the missiles to be
\ndeveloped with China would have a range of 15-30 kilometers.<\/p>\n
China has one of the most advanced missile programs in the
\nregion.<\/p>\n
As part of the plan, Indonesian scientists would be able to
\ndismantle Chinese missiles and study their systems so Indonesia
\ncould produce similar missiles, Kadiman said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia does not have a major missile program. The country
\nhas also been unable to buy weapons from traditional supplier the
\nUnited States because of a ban put in place following violence in
\nneighboring East Timor in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
For years, the world's most populous Muslim nation has seen
\nits main enemies as internal, such as separatist movements. The
\nwarming in ties between Indonesia and China follows a long,
\nuneasy history.<\/p>\n
Diplomatic ties were broken in 1967 after Jakarta accused
\nBeijing of backing an attempted coup by the Communist Party of
\nIndonesia. In an anti-communist crackdown that followed the coup,
\nhundreds of thousands of people, mainly ethnic Chinese, were
\nkilled.<\/p>\n
Relations were not restored until 1990, but intermittent
\nviolence against Indonesia's ethnic Chinese community, which
\narouses public anger in China, had made for a brittle friendship.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has said Chinese statistics show annual two-way
\ntrade at US$14 billion while Jakarta puts it at $9 billion.<\/p>",
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