Navy to buy South Korea subs<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The question of from where the Navy would purchase two submarines
\nit plans to acquire in the next 10 years was answered on Thursday
\nwhen Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh said his
\noffice would get them from South Korea.<\/p>\n
Sondakh said the Navy would acquire two submarines type 1300
\nequipped with dozens of torpedoes from South Korea, with the
\nfirst delivery expected in 2008.<\/p>\n
According to Sondakh, the submarines, costing about US$270
\nmillion each, would strengthen the force, which currently has
\nonly two antiquated submarines to guard the country's vast sea
\nterritory.<\/p>\n
The government said earlier that the government planned to buy
\ntwo submarines for the Navy but did not explain from where it
\nwould buy the equipment.<\/p>\n
Sondakh said Indonesia, as an archipelagic country, should
\nhave at least six submarines, but "due to the state's financial
\ncondition, the Navy has had to prioritize strengthening its
\nstriking force, instead of its fleet of warships".<\/p>\n
"In the very near future, we'll have to strengthen our
\nstriking force by purchasing more corvettes and patrol boats,"
\nSondakh said.<\/p>\n
"But indeed, strengthening our armada is also essential to
\nwarn other countries against violating our sovereignty," the
\nfour-star Navy admiral announced on the sidelines of a one-day
\nseminar on maritime terrorism at the Navy Staff and Command
\nSchool (Seskoal) in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In comparison, neighboring Singapore has four Swedish-made
\nsubmarines, while Malaysia plans to purchase three more
\nsubmarines from France.<\/p>\n
He did not, however, elaborate as to why the Navy was buying
\nsubmarines from South Korea.<\/p>\n
In 1994, the country purchased 35 used submarines from Germany
\nbut only two remain operable.<\/p>\n
The two submarines are among 117 ships in the Navy's armada,
\nwhich comprises 14 warships, 57 patrol boats and 44 support
\nvessels such as tankers and carriers. Only 30 percent of the
\nships, however, are seaworthy.<\/p>\n
Sondakh earlier disclosed that the Navy had struck a deal with
\nSouth Korea on the purchase of a $35 million personnel landing
\ndock equipped with medical facilities. The vessel arrived in
\nSurabaya on Sept. 17.<\/p>\n
Indonesian has been forced to seek military equipment from new
\nsources following the United States' decision to impose a
\nmilitary embargo on the country following the 1999 post-ballot
\nviolence in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Despite strong objection from legislators, the government
\nrecently purchased four Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters for the
\nAir Force and two Mi-35 assault helicopters for the Army.<\/p>\n
To improve coordination, the Navy also plans to reorganize its
\nstructure by merging its western and eastern fleets and putting
\nthem under the command of one man and renaming it the Republic of
\nIndonesia fleet.<\/p>\n
Sondakh said he was in the process of selecting the right man
\nto hold the post and expected that the TNI Headquarters would
\napprove his choice by Dec. 5.<\/p>\n
"The commander will be a three-star Navy admiral and his tasks
\nwill focus on the operation of all of the Navy's ships.<\/p>\n
"The current structure of the Navy is not efficient because
\ntwo commanders in charge of two Navy fleets sometimes have
\ndifferent policies. What is a priority for the eastern commander
\ncould be just 10th in line for the western commander," Sondakh
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The western fleet, which is based in Jakarta, is tasked with
\noverseeing maritime territory ranging from Tegal in East Java to
\nthe Sabang islands, while the eastern fleet, based in Surabaya,
\nEast Java, is assigned to monitor maritime territory from Tegal
\nto Merauke in Papua province.<\/p>\n
Currently, the two fleets are led by two-star admirals -- Rear
\nAdm. Mualimin Santoso for the Western Fleet, and Rear Adm. Slamet
\nSoebianto for the Eastern Fleet.<\/p>\n
Sondakh also said that the new fleet commander would oversee
\nthree subordinates in charge of the three sea-lanes that divide
\nthe country into four major zones -- Sumatra; Kalimantan and
\nJava; Sulawesi and Bawean islands; and Papua islands.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/navy-to-buy-south-korea-subs-1447893297",
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