RI to purchase Russian submarine

The Jakarta Post, Mon, 02/09/2009 10:01 PM  

The government is set to purchase Russian-made submarine, a legislator said Monday as quoted by Antara state news agency. 

“There’s always been a plan to purchase submarine and I’ve surveyed a few submarine workshops in Moscow, Russia. This submarine is to display our naval strength and also anticipate any armed conflicts,” deputy speaker of the House of Representatives’ Commission I on political, security and foreign affairs Yusron Ihza said Monday. 

He added that due to the global economic downturn, the purchase would be made in stages. 

“It’s not necessary to own many submarines since they are expensive, just three state of the art units suffice to safeguard the integrity of our waters,” Ihza said. 

He said the country’s economic power needed enhancement as it correlated to the country’s defense and security.