Canberra gives RI new patrol boats

Canberra gives RI new patrol boats

AUSTRALIA: Australia gave Indonesia five new patrol boats to help fight terrorism and transnational crimes such as drug and people smuggling, Justice and Customs Minister Chris Ellison said on Wednesday.

Ellison donated the custom-built catamarans worth 1.5 million Australian dollars (US$975,000), to Commissioner Gen. Kadaryanto, deputy chief of Indonesian national police, at a ceremony in the Western Australian port of Fremantle.

Prime Minister John Howard promised the boats last year. He has sought greater cooperation with Jakarta to stop people smugglers using Indonesia as a transit point for asylum seekers coming to Australia from countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

The boats are designed for open-water patrol and pursuit in the Indonesian archipelago and can reach speeds of up to 80 kph (50 mph). Their light fiberglass twin hulls can also handle shallow water close to shore and over reefs. --AP