Indonesia's fragile defense<\/p>\n
From Koran Tempo<\/p>\n
The Indonesia-Malaysia border dispute over the Ambalat oil
\nblock off East Kalimantan should be given serious attention, but
\nit is not enough for the nation to only mobilize militia
\nvolunteers against Malaysia.<\/p>\n
We should honestly acknowledge the fact that the country's
\nNavy and Air Force capacity is behind that of Malaysia. The
\nrecent tsunami disaster in Aceh showed the limitations of both
\nforces in carrying out rescue operations. We needed the aid of
\nhelicopters from the U.S., Singapore and other nations to reach
\ntsunami victims.<\/p>\n
Indonesian warships, for instance, according to former Navy
\nchief of staff Bernard Kent Sondakh, required some four days to
\nsail from the Jakarta port of Tanjung Priok to the coast of Banda
\nAceh. Only about six of the 38 Hercules aircraft can fly due to
\nthe U.S. arms embargo, while the new Sukhois from Russia are not
\nyet armed.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising that Malaysia has been bold enough to
\nlaunch various air and sea maneuvers in Indonesian waters. The
\nNew Order regime is to blame for marginalizing the country's air
\nand sea defense forces while focusing only on the Army. In fact,
\nmost modern concepts of land combat require a combination of
\nmodern air and sea war machines to provide crucial support.<\/p>\n
However, there is still hope for the nation. As the tsunami
\ndisaster has indicated, Indonesians are actually ready to
\nsacrifice for the victims in Aceh. So, why don't we raise funds
\nto enhance our national defense? This will happen after the
\neradication of graft practices in arms purchasing, which hampers
\npublic support for arms procurement.<\/p>\n
EKO SUPRIYANTO
\nJakarta<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesias-fragile-defense-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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