TNI denies deal over warships withdrawal<\/p>\n
Rendi Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI) denied on Monday reports saying it
\nhad reduced its naval presence in a maritime area of Ambalat that
\nhas been at the center of dispute with Malaysia.<\/p>\n
TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said he had no knowledge of
\na deal with Malaysia to limit the presence of warships in the
\narea to one each.<\/p>\n
"Until now there has been no warships or other warfare
\nequipment withdrawn (from Ambalat)," Endriartono said after
\naccompanying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in receiving
\nChinese President Hu Jintao and his delegation at the State
\nPalace.<\/p>\n
Endriartono was commenting on a statement by Malaysian deputy
\nprime minister and defense minister Najib Razak, who said over
\nthe weekend that an agreement had been reached at a recent
\nmeeting between the Malaysian and Indonesian naval chiefs to
\nscale back their fleets in the disputed area off eastern
\nKalimantan.<\/p>\n
Navy chiefs of both countries met in Batam earlier this month
\nto ease tension that followed an incident in which warships from
\nthe two neighbors collided near the Karang Unarang reef, where
\nIndonesia has built a lighthouse in an effort to strengthen its
\nterritorial claim to the disputed region.<\/p>\n
"I have received no confirmation from Malaysia regarding such
\nan agreement to reduce military force in order to ease tension,"
\nEndriartono said.<\/p>\n
The two neighbors had previously been involved in a border
\ndispute over the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan that are close to
\nthe Ambalat waters. In December 2002, the International Court of
\nJustice ruled that the islands belonged to Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Endriartono also said TNI was considering the possibility of
\npurchasing submarines from China to renew its naval fleet.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and China agreed on Monday to defense and security
\ncooperation that for the time being will be limited to trade in
\nlight arms.<\/p>\n
Indonesian defense minister Juwono Sudarsono said China had
\nproposed joint production of arms and other military equipment
\nwith Indonesian aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia, arms
\nproducer PT Pindad, ship builder PT PAL and explosives firm PT
\nDahana.<\/p>\n
"We could not accept the offer as they were demanding that the
\ncompanies provide all their research data for free as part of the
\nagreement. They could understand our objection," Juwono said.<\/p>\n
The agreement with China comes as Indonesia seeks a full
\nrestoration of military ties with the United States, which
\nimposed an arms embargo in 1992 following an incident in the
\nformer Indonesia province of East Timor in 1991.<\/p>\n
Juwono said that besides China, France and Germany were also
\noffering their submarines, jet fighters and carrier planes.<\/p>",
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