RI military buildup not a threat
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia said yesterday that its purchase of military hardware is part of the military's professional duty to remain alert and should not constitute a threat to its neighbors.
President Soeharto said Indonesia and its neighbors have been building a system of regional resilience based on the resilience of each country.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Air Force, Soeharto said that Indonesia's purchases are in the interest of self-defense.
Soeharto maintained that by actively participating in exchanges and joint exercises "the development of each nation's defenses is understandable and should not cause concern."
"We would prefer to prevent war by nurturing peace, understanding and cooperation," he added.
In the past two years Indonesia has been beefing up its Armed Forces with an assortment of modern, though sometimes retrofitted, military hardware.
Recent purchases include 24 British-made Hawk-100 and Hawk-200 fighters along with 52 Scorpion tanks retrofitted with new radar and 105 mm canons.
From Germany, Indonesia has purchased 300 Mercedes trucks and 39 used navy ships.
Indonesia's Army and Air Force have also ordered modern guns and radar equipment from Britain, France and Germany.
"World history has shown that there has never been total peace. Even though the threat of a major war seems to have subsided, we can still witness the advent of limited wars in various parts of the world," Soeharto said.
"It is part of the military's professional duty to face such unwanted events. Matters of security and defense, in any dimension, concern the survival of a country," he added.
In regards to the Air Force, Soeharto said it had the obligation of protecting Indonesia's skies.
"That is why we shall continue to build the Air Force so it will become an effective, efficient and modern deterrent," he said.
F-16s
Indonesia is currently negotiating a deal to purchase at least nine F-16 Fighting Falcons from the U.S. Top military brass seemed confident yesterday that the deal would come through, though no officials would confirm if more than nine of the offered 28 tactical fighters would be purchased.
"Well, we hope so. Pak Ginandjar is taking care of it," Armed Forces Commander Feisal Tanjung said referring to Minister of National Development Planning/Chairman of the National Development Planning Board Ginandjar Kartasasmita, who is also a former Air Force officer.
Speaking to journalists after an aerobatics display at Halim Perdanakusumah airport yesterday, Feisal would not speculate on plans to buy the jet planes.
"Whether we buy nine or 28 I can't confirm yet," he said.
Indonesia currently has a squadron of 11 F-16s.
Air Force Chief Air Vice Marshall Sutria Tubagus noted that it is not only the fighters that are important but also spare parts.
He added that the first of the 24 Hawks bought from Britain should arrive next month and will be assigned to the Air Force base in Pekanbaru, Riau.
President Soeharto in his address reminded the officers attending the ceremony that it was not merely the modernization of equipment which should be focused on but also the human resources of the Armed Forces.
"The ability to master and utilize the air has already become a yardstick by which a nation's technological capacity can be judged," the President said. (mds)