Australia hails joint military exercises with RI

Australia hails joint military exercises with RI

JAKARTA (JP): Australian Defense Minister Senator Robert Ray
says the joint exercises conducted by Australian and Indonesian
forces have contributed to the strengthening of overall bilateral
relations between the two countries.

Speaking to reporters after meeting President Soeharto, Ray
described that officers from both countries who are involved in
these exercises will become "friends for life" that problems that
may raise later could be resolved "between friends".

Ray, accompanied by his Indonesian counterpart Edi Sudradjat,
paid courtesy calls on President Soeharto and Vice President Try
Sutrisno in their respective offices yesterday. He arrived
earlier, accompanied by Admiral Alan Beaumont, the chief of the
Australian Armed Forces.

He was given a military welcome at the Ministry of Defense and
Security which was also attended by Armed Forces Chief Gen.
Feisal Tanjung, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Wismoyo Arismunandar,
Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Tanto Koeswanto and Air Force Chief
of Staff Marshall Rilo Pambudi.

Ray said that during his meeting with Edi, they agreed to
expand the defense bilateral cooperation between the two
countries to include providing military training and education
for Indonesian officers.

Indonesia has began sending its military officers to Australia
for education and training after Washington stopped providing aid
for such programs in the United States for ABRI officers.

Asked whether Australia was planning to sell military
equipment to Indonesia, he said it would be better for the two
countries to develop projects to produce defense equipment.

In his meeting with Ray, Try said that Indonesia's budget for
defense was still low because the government was giving priority
to economic development, according to the Antara news agency.

"Indonesia's defense budget is still only 1.6 percent of its
Gross Domestic Product, far below Australia's," Sumadi, an aide
to the minister/state secretary, quoted the Vice President as
saying.

Try said that the main priorities in national development are
poverty eradication, the creation of more job opportunities and
improvement of the quality of human resources. (rms)