'Indonesia susceptible to foreign attack'
Tiarma Siboro and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia's national territory is vulnerable to air and naval attacks from foreign countries due to the outdated weaponry possessed by the country's Navy and Air Force.
Worse still, most of the country's meager defense spending goes on the Army, leaving the Air Force and Navy with almost no money for new equipment and even less for maintaining existing equipment.
Painting a bleak picture of the current reality, Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Chappy Hakim revealed on Wednesday that only 93 of the force's total 222 aircraft were operational.
Of the 16 air defense radar stations, Chappy added, only 11 were operational.
"This situation is the result of the small budget we receive each year," Chappy said during a hearing with House Commission I on foreign, political and defense affairs here on Wednesday.
On Monday, the Navy Chief of Staff, Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh, attended a similar hearing with the commission, during which he disclosed that of the Navy's warships that were capable of sailing, none were combat capable due to a lack of ammunition.
Bernard further said that only some 50 of the Navy's 300 warships were serviceable, but underlined that "these warships are definitely obsolete, with some of them built in the 1960's."
"We consistently claim to be a maritime country, but we (the Navy) don't have enough money even to maintain our arsenal.
"As an example, we only have some 15,000 sailors to guard some 17,000 islands. How do you think we could effectively guard the country against any possible foreign attack?," Bernard asked legislators.
Bernard urged the legislators to consider a rise in the Navy's budget to Rp 8.08 trillion (about US$900 million in fiscal 2003, up from about Rp 1.9 trillion this year.
The additional money was needed to fulfill the Navy's needs in maintaining its arsenal, as well as for buying new equipment.
Chappy, who was just appointed on April 25, demanded the same thing, namely an increase in the Air Force budget.
He disclosed that in its 2002 budget, the Air Force had allocated Rp 236.5 billion for maintenance, Rp 206.7 billion for training and Rp 29.8 billion for radar maintenance.
According to the Air Force chief of staff, the real need was Rp 4.2 trillion.
In addition, Chappy acknowledged that the Air Force had proposed to take out export credits amounting to US$60 million to purchase equipment.
The export credits would be spent on, among other things, the purchase of radars, the upgrading of radar rooms, the purchase of spare parts for C-130 Hercules aircraft and the overhaul of MK-53 Hawk engines.
However, he admitted that it was the defense ministry that would determine the amount of the credits that could be taken out.
Chappy noted that the poor budgetary conditions had severely affected the combat readiness of military equipment, especially aircraft.
Citing an example, Chappy said that currently the Air Force could only operate seven C-130 Hercules to help with the deployment of troops to a troubled area.
In fact, the Air Force needed 18 C-130 Hercules to support the deployment of troops to two restive areas.
The Air Force chief emphasized that the current conditions had also led to a decrease in the quality of pilots as the minimum flying time for a pilot could not be satisfied.
"As a result, we have to prioritize combat-readiness, mainly as regards jet fighters, radar, training aircraft as well as transport aircraft and helicopters," he added.
Commenting on the unfavorable situation, deputy chairman of commission I R.K. Sembiring Meliala simply said that the whole nation had to understand the country's financial plight.
"But, in the future we will have to build a comprehensive defense system to preserve our sovereignty," said Sembiring, a retired two-star general.