JP/19/SUB2

Indonesian fleet in sorry state

Although Indonesia maintains the biggest navy in Southeast Asia its fleet is not in good repair.

It can put to sea but its combat abilities are questionable.

On Dec. 8 there will be an exercise involving 40 warships from Surabaya moving through the Straits of Makassar to seas near the Ambalat region.

This oil and gas-rich area was the site of a territorial dispute with Malaysia earlier this year

In Surabaya's Tanjung Perak naval port, rows of old East German warships can be seen looking distinctly distressed. These also have a fascinating past that doesn't appear in the official histories; they're the remnants of a famous deal done in the early 1990s by B.J. Habibie, then minister of research and technology.

Criticism of the purchase by some journalists led to the banning of two news magazines. This focused international attention on press freedom in Indonesia and highlighted other aspects of the authoritarian regime.

Earlier this year, Admiral Bernard Kent Sondakh was reported as saying, "the Navy's vessels are almost obsolete and some are second-hand." He said the Navy had fewer than 130 patrol craft.

The cost of bringing the Navy up to strength where it can really defend the archipelago's extensive sea-lanes would be around US$ 2.7 trillion, according to some military sources. The most pressing need is for fast patrol boats.

The Navy currently has two German-built submarines that have been in service since the 1980s.

The purchase of four new submarines from South Korea has already been announced. These will cost US$ 270 million each and are expected to be delivered in 2008.

Neighboring Singapore has four submarines, all from Sweden. Malaysia has ordered three subs from France to establish its first underwater fleet.