Navy 'neutral' in procuring arms

SURABAYA: Unlike the Air Force which has gone to many former communist countries for its weaponry, the Indonesian Navy vowed on Thursday to rely on itself in modernizing its weaponry.

"We opt not to take sides with either the West or East in procuring our arms because we are committed to standing on our own feet," Rear Adm. Yussuf Solichien, the Navy Education commander, said in an apparent reference to the Cold War terms for NATO allies and Soviet-bloc allies, on the sidelines of the institution's 57th anniversary celebration here.

He was commenting on the Air Force, which acquired four Russian-made jet fighters to end its long-standing dependence on U.S. military aircraft.

Yussuf said the Navy had built cooperation with state ship maker PT PAL in producing warships, including corvettes, starting from 2005. Indonesia has purchased most of its warships from Britain and the Netherlands.

The Navy has planned to add 22 warships to its fleet within the next decade. -- JP