Jakarta-Moscow<\/p>\n
A new alliance -- Jakarta-Moscow -- may have come to the minds
\nof many people when Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nand Russian Vladimir Putin signed memoranda of understanding for
\ntechnical and military cooperation in Moscow this Monday.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has agreed to buy helicopters, middle- and long-
\nrange missiles and Sukhoi jet fighters. In return, Russia is to
\ndevelop massive projects in Indonesia, including the rocket and
\nsatellite launch pads in Biak, Papua, and a floating nuclear
\npower plant.<\/p>\n
From a geopolitical point of view, the purchase of Russian
\nmilitary equipment is considered to be important to lessen
\nIndonesia's dependency on the United States. Experience has
\ntaught us that our complete reliance on the U.S. put us in a
\ndifficult situation when the U.S. halted its military
\ncooperation, including the sales of weaponry, with Indonesia
\nfollowing the East Timor violence in 1991. This dependence has
\nobviously been used by Washington to pressure Jakarta.<\/p>\n
We don't know exactly what our military really needs.
\nPresident Megawati said that our military equipment was too old,
\nbut there has been no explanation as to whether we really need
\nSukhoi jet fighters and S-300 long-range missiles. We also don't
\nknow if the Sukhoi would be compatible with the current F-16
\nfleets we bought from the U.S.<\/p>\n
Minimizing our dependence on the U.S. and building a nonpolar
\nworld is important, but purchasing arms and military equipment is
\nanother matter which needs a serious and thorough consideration.<\/p>\n
It seems that the decision to buy military equipment from
\nRussia was made by the President alone.<\/p>\n
-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-moscow-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }