Ambalat diplomacy budget cut

Ivy Susanti and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cut the budget for diplomatic efforts to settle the Ambalat dispute almost 10 fold, from a massive Rp 60.4 billion (US$6.34 million) to a modest Rp 8 billion for the year 2005, a top official said on Wednesday.

The move comes as the Ministry of Defense proposed a hike in the defense budget this year particularly to help improve the capability of the Navy and Air Force in defending the country's territory.

Foreign ministry secretary-general Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat did not elaborate on the reason for the budget revision, but explained that the earlier budget assessment was based on a "worst case scenario".

It was not clear whether the House of Representatives would review the revised budget, since the legislators had already approved the previous one of Rp 60.4 billion.

"We have reviewed the situation with the related technical department to determine the most efficient negotiation strategy to meet our own interests. We concluded that the budget need not even reach Rp 10 billion. For the year 2005, after much internal discussion, we decided to find the most efficient negotiation strategy to claim Ambalat as our territory. We will allocate Rp 7 billion to Rp 8 billion," Sudjadnan told reporters on the sidelines of the Asian-African Senior Officials' Meeting.

Sudjadnan said that the initial budget was planned in a rush. "It was an early assessment. We were asked by the House budget committee to submit the budget only a day before the meeting. We thought of the worst-case scenario, involving various departments. We would have to survey our maritime area, measure the exclusive economic zone, send people to international organizations, collect data and pay lawyers, but now we think not all of those measures are necessary."

Indonesia and Malaysia have been engaged in a territorial dispute over a deep water oil block called Ambalat in Sulawesi Sea over the past month. Although the two countries had initially sent warships and war planes to the area, the two sides later agreed to settle the dispute through diplomatic efforts. The last talks took place in Jakarta on March 9, and will continue again in May.

But the Ambalat issue had been used by the country's military forces to seek a higher defense budget.

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono has recently proposed an increase in the 2005 defense expenditure from Rp 21.6 trillion to Rp 26.6 trillion. The lawmakers, however, have yet to approve the proposal.

Juwono is optimistic that the House will at least approve between Rp 1.5 trillion to Rp 3 trillion in additional funds.

The defense budget of the world's fourth most populous country is considered very low, even compared to smaller neighboring countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia. The initial defense budget figure only accounts for 6 percent of the 2005 state budget.

Commenting on the government's plan to raise the military budget, the Air Force has said that they might procure six more Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters and spare parts for the Hercules C-130 transport planes, while the Navy plans to procure submarines, missiles and patrol boats equipped with rockets.

The Indonesian Military has approximately 400,000 active troops. But much of its military equipment is in poor condition. It has two squadrons of Hercules aircraft but only a handful are operational. This has often been used by the TNI as a reason for their slow response in sending soldiers and humanitarian aid to areas hit by security disturbances and natural disasters.