Clinton defends F-16 deal with RI

Clinton defends F-16 deal with RI

WASHINGTON (AFP): The Clinton administration tried Wednesday to sell Congress on its plans to proceed with the sale of nine F- 16 fighter jets to Indonesia next year despite human rights concerns.

"This is not a new weapons system. They already possess F- 16s," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Kurt Campbell told a Senate subcommittee.

"So we thought this was prudent, it was a small number, and again ... (consistent with Indonesia's) responsible regional and international behavior, " Campbell said.

"A regionally respected armed forces with credible defensive capabilities that trains and operates in a non-threatening manner is an important contributor to regional stability," he said.

President Bill Clinton's administration decided to postpone selling the F-16s to Indonesia until January at the earliest.

But White House and State Department officials say they still believe the F-16 sale serves U.S. national interests and will go forward when Congress reconvenes after the November general election.

"We don't believe we're contributing to any arms race," Assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord said.

Lord and Campbell also continued cooperation and exchanges with the Indonesian military, noting that contact with U.S. forces would help reduce alleged human rights abuses.

Indonesia's military spending remains only 1.5 percent of its gross domestic product, he said, and its air force capability is small in comparison with that of its Asian neighbors.

U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concern at Indonesia's treatment of dissidents, and Washington exports no small arms or lethal crowd-control items to Jakarta.

Pakistan ordered the F-16s for $200 million in the 1980s but was barred from receiving them in 1990 because of U.S. suspicions that Islamabad was developing nuclear weapons.

Following repeated Pakistani complaints, the administration decided in April to deliver some of the equipment and refund some of the money, so long as it could find a buyer for the F-16s.

"The United States has acted, in effect, as Pakistan's agent in this regard," Lord said Wednesday. "Despite our approaches to numerous nations, only Indonesia has agreed to purchase some of the Pakistani planes."

Indonesia's air strike force mainly comprises U.S.-built jets such as A64 Skyhawks, F-5s, and a squadron of 12 new F-16s ordered in 1989.