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Indonesian Delegation In Russia To Look At Fighters, Missiles
Jakarta (AFP) Sep 23, 2005 Indonesian defence officials were in Russia scouting for a wide range of weapons that could upgrade the country's poorly-equipped and embargo-hit armed forces, officials said Thursday. Indonesian ambassador to Moscow, Susanto Pujomartono, told AFP by telephone that a 16-member delegation led by Air Force Vice-Marshall Pieter Wattimena was in the country. Among the weapons being discussed were Sukhoi jet fighters, Susanto said. Air Force chief Marshall Chappy Hakim has said the air force would like eight more Sukhois to add to the four purchased under the previous government of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri. Defence ministry sources, who declined to be named, said Indonesia was also looking at buying infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, ship-borne cruise missiles, frigates and submarines. The heads of the Indonesian airforce and the navy have already made separate recent visits to Russia, said the sources who requested anonymity because they did not have official permission to talk on the subject. Susanto said the delegation was officially in Russia to attend a commission on technical military cooperation set up earlier by the two governments. The armed forces have been looking for new suppliers to get around Western restrictions on military sales. Indonesia's airforce fleet, primarily US and British aircraft, has been hard hit by a US arms embargo. Washington imposed restrictions on contacts after the Indonesian military massacred pro-independence protesters in East Timor in November 1991. The restrictions were further tightened in 1999 after militias backed by the Indonesian army killed about 1,400 people before and after East Timor voted for independence from Jakarta. The US is keen to restore full military ties with the world's largest Muslim nation to assist its global "war on terror". Washington eased an embargo on the supply of some aircraft parts to help boost relief efforts in Indonesia's Aceh province, the region worst hit by tsunamis which struck Asia last December. In February, the US decided to resume training members of Indonesia's armed forces. But restrictions on the supply of lethal equipment remain. "We hope that Moscow can provide soft credits if we buy weapons and other military equipment from Russia," Wattimena was quoted by the state Antara news agency as saying before his departure for Moscow. "We have long cooperated with the military in Russia. We have a long history of this and we are certain that the prospect for the future is bright," he was quoted as saying. During his visit Wattimena, the Defence Ministry's Director General for Armaments, has visited military installations as well as weapons manufacturers, Susanto said. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
EU Arms Flow To China Despite Ban
Brussels (UPI) Dec 13, 2005Despite the European Union's arms embargo against China, EU weapons manufacturers bagged $405 million worth of licenses to sell military goods to the communist state and exported a further $86 million of hardware in 2004, official figures obtained by United Press International show. |
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