RI remains selective in military weapon purchases: minister

Beijing (ANTARA News) - Indonesia maintains a selective and careful attitude in the matter of military weapon purchases amid the many supply offers it has received from other countries because it has to consider any purchase politically, economically, and militarily, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said.

"The purchase of weapons for domestic defense purposes must be carried out selectively, especially from the political and economic viewpoints," Juwono told ANTARA News here on Thursday.

The minister is on a visit to China, among other things, to sign an agreement on defense cooperation with China. The agreement was signed by Juwono and his Chinese counterpart, Cao Gangchuan, in Beijing on Wednesday (Nov. 7).

Basically, Indonesia is trying to produce weapons for its own needs for its land, marine and air defenses, he said.

For this purpose, the defense ministry was always acting in coordination with the industry ministry, he added.

However, to obtain weaponry its domestic industries could not yet make such as jet fighter planes and submarines, Indonesia had to buy them from other countries.

Responding to ANTARA`s question on the possibility of buying armament from China, the minister said there was an interesting offer, especially regarding joint production of weapons.

"That`s what we are exploring now and the cooperation is a concrete step of the Indonesia-China Strategic Partnership signed by President Yudhoyono and President Hu Jintao in April 2005, among other things concerning cooperation in maritime security," Minister Juwono said.

The Indonesian government had also explored and received offers for weapon supply from countries such as Russia, China, Czech Republic and Brazil, according to the minister.

However, he reiterated, the government would be selective in weapon purchases from abroad and consider the pros and cons in the medium and long terms , especially where maintenance of the hardware was concerned.

About the offer from China, he said Indonesia was still comparing the price and technology.

Minister Juwono said China had a significant interest in establishing defense cooperation because 60 percent of its oil tankers had to pass through Indonesian straits when carrying oil and gas imported from the Middle East.

And 38 percent of Chinese goods transported through straits in Southeast Asia.

"Therefore, the cooperation has a meeting point between North East Asia, especially China and Southeast Asia, Indonesia in particular. Both countries can also cooperate in securing marine traffic around and between northeast Asia and Southeast Asia," the minister said.