EMPOWERMENT OF INDONESIAN DEFENSE INDUSTRIES ATTRACTS OTHER COUNTRIES

Jakarta Forum - Jakarta, The commitment of the Indonesian government to use locally made weaponry will directly strengthen domestic defense industries and lure other countries to the country`s defense equipment.

This is among others apparent from Malaysian order for several products of the main weaponry system manufactured by the Indonesian defense industries, the director of the national aircraft manufacturing company PT. Dirgantara Indonesia (PT.DI), Budi Wiraskito said in Bandung recently.

Malaysia has reportedly placed an order on the Indonesian manufacturers for six aircraft and bought 32 armored vehicles from PT. Pindad.

Two other countries, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), were also interested in buying CN-235 anti submarine planes, Budi said, adding that Qatar had already expressed its wish to make the purchases.

It seems that the government`s strong commitment has contributed to the survival of Indonesia`s defense industries, Said Nizar, an expert on international law at the Hasanuddin Unversity, said in response to the army`s commitment to use locally manufactured main weaponry system (Alutsista).

According to him, the government`s commitment to use locally made weapons would certainly accelerate the growth of the domestic defense industries such as PT. DI (aircraft manufacturer), PT. PAL (shipbuilding), PT. Pindad (armored vehicles, tanks, rockets and various other arms), and other relevant companies.

In response to the government`s commitment, Chairman of Commission I of the House of Representatives Kemal Aziz Stamboel said Indonesia should gradually reduce its dependence on imported arms and defense equipment by revitalizing its domestic defense industries.

The procurement of national weaponry system for the defense forces needs to be based on the products of local defense industries, he said.

"This is relevant to the plan of defense ministry in the procurement of weapons focusing on locally manufactured products," Kemal who is a member of the Prosperous Justice Party Faction said over the weekend.

Thus, he added, intensive efforts to strengthen state-owned defense industries are badly needed. "We hope that there will be an effective synchronization of the existing forces in long- and short-term plans in the procurement of weaponry system for the defense forces," he said.

Earlier, Army Chief of Staff Gen George Toisutta confirmed that the army was committed to using domestically made main weaponry system.

"Whatever the risks, we must place priority on locally made hardware," he said after installing the Bukit Barisan regional military commander, Maj Gen M. Noer Muis.

George even stressed that he did not want to depend on foreign-made weapons in strengthening the army`s weaponry system, because they could any time be subjected to an embargo.

"If an embargo is imposed on us, we cannot move," he said, adding that Indonesia had unpleasant experiences of arms embargoes.

As a consequence of the embargoes, the weaponry system of the national defense forces which had to maintain the sovereignty of the country will become weak, he said, reiterating the army was determined to use locally made arms.

In the meantime, Purnomo Yusgiantoro was reported to have acted fast after being installed as defense minister by conducting a series of workshops aimed at revitalizing Indonesia`s strategic industries, to allay public doubts about his capabilities to handle the defense portfolio.

The workshops were successful, as for the first time all the stakeholders were assembled at one place and discussed all their problems.

First, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police, the main users of domestically-made weaponry, outlined on Nov. 18, 2009, their projected needs.

Based on these requirements, the defense industries then presented on Nov. 24, 2009, their options based on their current capabilities and needs.

After the end-users and producers had presented what they need and what they can do, a discussion on the financial side was held with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and national bankers presenting their thoughts and ideas.

These presentations have created a complex and complete map of the position of the stakeholders.

The end-users, for example, complained that the products were not reliable, especially with regard to timely delivery and quality.

The producers lamented the fact that there were not enough orders to sustain an economical production due to the small quantities of products being ordered as well as the government`s lack of support by preferring to use foreign suppliers.

PT Pindad President Director Adik Avianto Soedarsono, for example, expected the government to integrate its procurement program into a continuous policy so that the defense companies could better plan their production cycles.

"Most procurements are made at such short notice that they are prone to delays," he told the meeting.

Domestic financiers also questioned the government`s commitment and guarantee before the banks could channel funds to arms makers.

Purnomo admitted the domestic strategic industries, especially those producing the weapons system, still had to work on improving the quality of its products, secured timely delivery, after sales service and spare parts.

He also said the strategic industries would be expected to spur the whole national industrial sector by providing parts and components in the supply chain feeding the defense industries.

Indonesia has been under a US and UK-led arms embargo by Western countries for alleged human rights abuses.

This has revived dreams of an indigenous defense industry especially with current production capabilities, which range from transport vessels and aircraft, armored personnel carriers to small-caliber firearms.

PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI), for example, is producing medium CN-235 and light NC-212 Aviocar transport aircraft in cooperation with the Spanish aerospace firm CASA EADS.

PT Pindad has moved from licensed production of SS-1 assault rifles of the Belgian company FNC to its own design of SS-2 assault rifles, which are said to combine the accuracy of the American M-16 with the reliability of the notorious Russian AK-47.

State shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia has just delivered two landing platform docks (LPDs) to the Indonesian Navy.

The two LPDs were part of a contract of four LPDs with a South Korean company that agreed to have PT PAL build two LPDs as its sub-contractor.

PT PAL has also submitted various designs, from 60-meter offshore patrol vessels to helicopter carriers, based on its 50,000-ton cargo vessels.

Source: Antara News By Eliswan Azly