Navy told to keep spirits up despite obsolete weaponry

Navy told to keep spirits up despite obsolete weaponry

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri called on the Navy on Sunday to
maintain its morale, despite its obsolete military equipment.

"I have seen how professional you are, despite the old
military facilities," Megawati told hundreds of Navy cadets
taking part in a major naval exercise in the waters off Karimun,
Central Java.

The exercise involved a total of 12 warships and support
vessels, four Nomad aircraft, two helicopters and a number of Air
Force planes. It is scheduled to end on Aug. 28.

Designed to improve the Navy's readiness to safeguard the
country's territorial waters, 923 personnel took part in the
command-post exercise and 170 personnel in the maneuvering
exercise.

Megawati said the training would serve as a starting point for
the Indonesian Navy to regain its prowess.

Besides the President, a number of top officers, including
Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil examined the exercise.

On Saturday, Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh
pledged to lead the force to revive its golden period some four
decades back.

Bernard said in a statement released by the Navy Eastern Fleet
Command on Saturday that a combat exercise from Aug. 15 through
Aug. 28 would mark the Navy's awakening toward a strong armed
force at sea.

"From now on we will start to rebuild our Navy. We will
emulate our predecessors in the 1960s when the force was called
ALRI," he said. ALRI stands for Navy of the Republic of
Indonesia.

The Navy stole the limelight in Indonesia's history during the
country's heroic confrontations with the Netherlands over Irian
Jaya, now known as Papua, and with Malaysia throughout the first
half of the 1960s.

Bernard saw off on Friday 12 warships from the Navy base in
Surabaya to the combat exercise in the waters of Gundul island
off the Central Java town of Jepara.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri watched the exercise on
Sunday morning aboard the KRI Tanjung Kembani 971 warship.

Bernard said the 14-day exercise was the biggest ever,
involving 12 warships and other supporting war equipment. Apart
from Tanjung Kambani, the participating warships are KRI
Fatahillah, KRI Malahayati, KRI Ki Hajar Dewantara, KRI Badik,
KRI Ajak, KRI Singa, KRI Imam Bonjol, KRI Wiratno, KRI Untung
Surapati, KRI Arun, and KRI Soputan.

Over 1,000 troops, four Nomad planes, two Navy helicopters and
several Air Force jet fighters are joining the exercise, which
will see the Navy fire four France-made Exocet MM38 missiles.

The exercise is aimed at improving the Navy's ability to
anticipate enemies' movements and cut their links with their
Indonesian associates.

Bernard told the House of Representatives hearing early last
month that of the Navy's warships that were capable of sailing,
none were combat ready due to lack of ammunition.

He 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 1960s.

Claiming to be a maritime state, Indonesia has only some
15,000 sailors to safeguard some 17,000 islands.

The Navy had reason to celebrate now that the government has
proposed an increase in the defense budget to Rp 17.8 trillion
for the 2003 fiscal year from Rp 9.2 trillion in the current
fiscal year.