Obselete armaments a cause of concern

Obselete armaments a cause of concern

By A'an Suryana

BOGOR (JP): Although Indonesia is not at war with anyone, the
fact that the Indonesian Military's war equipment is obsolete
draws concern from military officers, including those at the
Jakarta Military Headquarters.

Journalists, who were invited to cover a joint basic military
exercise for units under the Jakarta Military Command in Ciampea
district last Thursday, were surprised to find two young
corporals spraying grease from two pump spray canisters on an old
anti-aircraft cannon S-60 57-caliber.

The move was taken to make sure the cannon would work well
when it was fired in a demonstration for Army Chief Gen. Tyasno
Sudarto, who was to brief middle-ranking officers.

The large cannon was made in the former Soviet Union in 1946,
and has a shooting range of up to 12 kilometers.

Two middle-ranking officers, who conducted a final inspection
before the arrival of Tyasno, told the two corporals to stop
spraying.

"There is no need to cover up. If the cannon can't operate
well, let it be. Our (military) capacity is like that," an
officer, identified as Lt. Col. A.R. Effendi, yelled at the two
corporals.

"How can we defend the country with that? We can't even defend
Tanjung Priok seaport (in North Jakarta) with it," the other
officer grumbled, as The Jakarta Post stood next to him.

The officer later said the cannon was not able to combat the
latest military armament.

"For example, we have to shoot an enemy's F-16 jet fighter in
a battle. While the missile is being shot out of the cannon's
barrel, the plane has disappeared from sight," he said in a
bitter tone.

"It is probably capable of shooting down an OV-10 Bronco
warplane, which was produced about the same time," he added.

The OV-10 Bronco is a military plane bomber, which harvested
its reputation during the Vietnam war in the late 1960s.

Two hundred and fifty middle-ranking military chiefs within
the Jakarta Military Command took part in the three-day exercise,
which ended on Friday.

Combat skill

The officers, with a minimum rank of platoon leader or
subprecinct chief, were reintroduced to basic maneuvers to
refresh their combat ability. They were also given lectures on
human rights and illegal drug use.

The function exhibited various types of military devices,
including equipment for deactivating bombs, heavy cannons, heavy
and light machine guns and even military vehicles.

Most of the arms exhibited were obsolete and, among other
things, there was a 12.7-caliber heavy machine gun, which was
produced in the former Soviet Union in 1938.

Another weapon, a portable 7.76-caliber mountain cannon which
was produced in the former Yugoslavia during World War II, was
also displayed.

"This kind of cannon, with a maximum shooting range of 8
kilometers, was still being used in East Timor until last year,"
Second Lt. Prasodjo, an officer at the Jakarta Military
Headquarters, said.

Officers blamed the obsolete military equipment on the high
cost of new arms and on a limited military budget.

"One 5.6-caliber bullet of a FN-C light machine gun costs Rp
2,500 (30 cents)," Col. A. Rachman, chief of the Jakarta Military
Command's Arms Division.

Another officer, Col. Irianto, said the state budget for
military subsectors was limited from time to time.

"Since the New Order era, the military has received 6 percent
of the whole budget, compared with the United States, which gets
26 percent," he said, while citing that neighboring countries
abruptly protested when Indonesia planned to hike the military's
budget.

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono proposed a 62 percent
hike in the military's budget last November.

Juwono said the hike was necessary to improve professionalism
and ensure a corruption-free environment in the military.

Instead of increasing the budget, the government imposed a cut
this year.

The 1999/2000 budget allotted Rp 11.6 trillion (1999/2000) for
the military subsector, compared to only Rp 5.8 trillion for the
draft budget of the 2000/2001 fiscal year introduced by the
government on Thursday.

Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu said
the military had no other choice but to accept the proposal.

"The military has always given in to the government since the
New Order era. This year, our government is incapable of
increasing the budget as the country is still in economic
turmoil. What else we can do?," he said.

Gen. Tyasno said the military must prioritize its
expenditures.

"Updating military equipment will need huge funds, but our
government doesn't have money presently. We should prioritize our
expenditures.

Don't be selfish," he said after briefing the officers.