TNI, SAF to continue cooperation

TNI, SAF to continue cooperation

JAKARTA: Indonesia Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono
Sutarto and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) chief Maj. Gen. Ng Yat
Chun ended on Friday their two-day talks on defense cooperation
between the two neighbors.

Both parties concluded that their cooperation during the
course of last year, including antipiracy operations in the
Malacca Straits and intelligence information exchanges, had met
its target. The two armed forces decided to continue the
cooperation this year, the TNI information service said in a
release made available to The Jakarta Post on Friday.

During the meetings, which were held in Singapore, Endriartono
proposed joint efforts to deal with transnational crimes.

Endriartono was accompanied by other TNI top brass, including
outgoing TNI chief for general affairs Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago
and TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.

Apart from military training, the TNI and SAF also agreed to
boost education cooperation. This year, six mid-ranking TNI
officers are being invited to pursue their masters degrees in
Singapore. The SAF is also offering English training programs to
a number of TNI officers.

In exchange, the SAF will send some officers to Indonesia to
learn Bahasa Indonesia. -- JP