Navy to purchase 22 new warships<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Navy will spend most of its budget this year on
\nthe purchase of 22 new warships in a bid to improve its defense
\ncapability, chief of staff Adm. Bernard K. Sondakh said on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Bernard said the purchase would be possible due to an increase
\nin the Navy budget to Rp 700 billion, the lion's share of the
\nstate budget allocation to the Indonesian Military.<\/p>\n
\"The Navy will improve its performance in combating smuggling,
\npoaching and piracy in Indonesian waters,\" Bernard said after
\nswearing in Rear Adm. Mualimin Santoso as the new commander of
\nthe Navy's Western Fleet, replacing Rear Adm. Djoko Sumaryono.<\/p>\n
Djoko will have a new job as assistant to the TNI chief for
\nplanning and budgetary affairs.<\/p>\n
The warships on the shopping list include eight corvettes, two
\nsubmarines, three landing tank ships and four patrol ships.
\nCurrently, the Navy has 117 ships, only 30 of which are
\noperational.<\/p>\n
Bernard said that the Navy had received tenders from warship-
\nproducing countries South Korea, the Netherlands and France.<\/p>\n
\"But the Navy will choose a foreign company that is willing to
\nhelp us develop our shipbuilding industry as we intend to produce
\nour own vessels in the future,\" he said.<\/p>\n
At present, Indonesia is designing its first warship, expected
\nto set sail on Aug. 17, 2005. The warship will be jointly made by
\nstate ship company PT PAL, the National Aeronautics and Space
\nAgency (LAPAN), ammunition producer PT Pindad and privately owned
\nPT Texmaco, Bernard said.<\/p>\n
The Navy, he said, had also allocated some of this year's
\nbudget to repair 14 of 39 warships bought from the former East
\nGermany.<\/p>\n
Indonesia bought the warships from East Germany in 1993. The
\ngovernment spent hundreds of millions of dollars on buying the
\nships, most of which turned out to be unseaworthy.<\/p>\n
\"We won't buy used vessels as we did in the past,\" Bernard
\nasserted.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/navy-to-purchase-22-new-warships-1447893297",
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