'Navy needs hundreds more boats'<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Navy chief of staff Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh defended on
\nThursday the purchase of patrol boats by some provinces as the
\ncountry needed 200 more boats to guard its vast sea territory
\nwhile the central government only has a limited budget.<\/p>\n
Bernard said Indonesia, as an archipelagic country, ideally
\nshould operate at least 380 patrol boats to cover thousands of
\nsquare kilometers stretching from Aceh to Papua.<\/p>\n
He dismissed allegations that the cooperation between the Navy
\nand the provincial governments would violate any law related to
\nregional autonomy, and therefore does not need approval from the
\nMinistry of Home Affairs.<\/p>\n
\"I clearly understand that the Navy cannot ask local
\nadministrations to buy a warship. But with such cooperation with
\nlocal administrations to procure patrol boats, we emphasize that
\nthe Navy will control the use of the boats as well as their
\nweaponry,\" Bernard stated during a press conference.<\/p>\n
Article 10 of the Law No. 22\/1999 on regional government says
\nlocal administrations have the responsibility of maintaining
\nnatural resources and providing support for security measures and
\nstate sovereignty in their respective jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
\"Of course the weaponry for the patrol boats will comply with
\nstandard requirements. I'm not going to load them with missiles,
\nbecause they are not warships,\" Bernard said.<\/p>\n
He was referring to the recent agreement signed by the Navy's
\nWestern Fleet and Riau administration on the purchase of Rp 12.8
\nbillion worth of a patrol boats recently.<\/p>\n
The boats were produced by PT Pelindo in Tanjung Pinang, Riau.<\/p>\n
Bangka Belitung province has announced it would follow suit,
\nwith West Nusa Tenggara and Gorontalo next in line, according to
\nBernard.<\/p>\n
The Navy has come under fire and been put under scrutiny by
\nthe home and defense ministries for allegedly violating Article 7
\nof the Law No. 22\/1999 which stipulates that security affairs are
\nsolely the responsibility of the central government. Regional
\ngovernments have to channel their money to the military through
\nthe central government.<\/p>\n
TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said during a hearing with
\nthe House of Representatives on Wednesday that he had already
\nurged local administrations to purchase patrol boats in a bid to
\nsupport the Navy's job to safeguard the country's waters where
\nfish poaching and timber and people-smuggling are rampant.<\/p>\n
Fish poaching alone has cost the country up to US$3 billion a
\nday.<\/p>\n
According to Bernard, the Navy could only purchase four patrol
\nboats a year if it depended solely on the state budget.<\/p>\n
\"Surely it will not meet the country's goal of combating
\nvarious threats in our waters,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Of the 117 ships in the Navy armada, two are submarines, 14
\nare warships, 57 are patrol boats and the remaining 44 are
\nsupport vessels, including tankers and carriers. Only 30 percent
\nof the ships, however, are still seaworthy, according to the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Bernard said the patrol boats provided by provincial
\ngovernments will be registered as Navy property to enable them to
\noperate.<\/p>\n
The admiral also disclosed that the Navy had struck a deal
\nwith South Korea on the purchase of a $35 million Personnel
\nLanding Dock that will be provided with medical facilities. The
\nvessel is scheduled to arrive in Surabaya on Sept. 17.<\/p>\n
He said the Navy also plans to purchase four corvettes from
\nthe Netherlands over two years, two of them will be assembled at
\nstate ship builder PT PAL in Surabaya.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/navy-needs-hundreds-more-boats-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}