Synergies needed to build modern defense industry
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
In view of the limited defense budget, the government and the military should form a strong synergy with research centers, universities and financial institutions to build a modern defense industry subordinate to the country's national defense system, military and defense experts say.
According to the experts, the government has to show a strong commitment to gradually raising the defense budget and pursuing self-sufficiency in its arsenal supply, while universities and research centers have to play their own roles in conduct research in developing military technology.
Prof. Said D. Jenie of the Ministry of Research and Technology said that the Indonesian Military (TNI) had listed certain technology and weaponry that needed to be built in cooperation with non-department government agencies (LPNDs) and their research centers.
"The TNI's need for military equipment in strategic intelligence, defense, security and logistical matters is within the domain of LPNDs' capability and, therefore, close cooperation between the relevant parties should be enhanced to achieve self- sufficiency in the defense field," he said in his paper presented during a round-table discussion on the defense industry here on Wednesday.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who officially opened the discussion, expressed his commitment to increasing defense spending to between 3 percent and 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the current 1 percent in a bid to build a modern defense force.
Jenie explained that the country's LPNDs -- Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), National Aeronautics and Aerospace Agency (Lapan), National Atomic Agency (Batan), National Agency for Research and Application of Technology (BPPT), Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) and TNI's research centers -- had their own fields of expertise in research, development, engineering and operations.
Budhi Santoso, president of state-owned arms manufacturer PT Pindad in Bandung, West Java, said that to be realistic in terms of global weaponry systems development and the country's large territory and potential threats, the time has come for the country to start developing nuclear and missile technology in its defense system through transfer of technology, forward (or classical) engineering, or reverse engineering.
"Research centers, defense industries and universities should form three main groups in developing missile technology. If Indonesia cannot obtain the technology through bilateral cooperation with other countries, we can do it through forward engineering or reverse engineering," he said.
He said that Pindad, state-owned electronic firm PT LEN, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and the Army have studied rapier missile technology by dismantling a rapier missile.
D. Sasongko, dean of ITB's industrial technology department said ITB, the University of Indonesia in Jakarta and Gadjahmada University in Yogyakarta had qualified human resources that could be involved in conducting research and experiments in developing the modern industry.
ITB, for example has many experts in nuclear technology, aeronautical engineering, biotechnology and remote sensing technology while UI has many experts in defense studies.
I Dewa Putu Rai, deputy chief of the National Planning and Development Board (Bappenas), called on commercial banks to help finance research programs in military technology and provide credit to defense industries to produce the necessary military equipment and machinery.
"The country should no longer depend on the export credit in arms purchases because such a mechanism is no longer adequate in meeting the demand for military equipment it needs at present," he said.
In addition, the government also plans to regroup all military business entities into a major holding company to make them more profitable in a bid to enable the military to cover its annual routine expenditure and improve its personnel's social welfare, who number 500,000.