January 30 2012, Jakarta: Indonesian Military Commander Agus Suhartono on Monday defended the military plan to purchase 100 Leopard tanks from the Netherlands saying that the tanks could not be produced by local firm while the army badly needed such weaponry to boost strength.
The plan was made as the Indonesian military seeks to modernize its weaponry to make them in par with the strength of neighboring countries.
The commander said that the military would abort the plan should the weapon could be produced by an Indonesian company.
"If we can make the tank by ourselves, we will purchase it from the domestic firm, but if we do not, we should cooperate with other countries," said Suhartono.
Some lawmakers had expressed their disagreement to purchase Leopard tanks because they do not conform with the geographical condition of Indonesia.
"The tanks have met the requirement, the specification needed by our military. We will meet what our army requires," Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said.
Indonesia had hoped to buy the tanks from Netherlands with lower prices as the country was trimming its budget for weaponry that might lead it to reduce its military equipment.
Indonesian army had been also negotiating with several countries in Europe on weaponry purchase, Army Chief of Staff General Pramono Edhie Wibowo said.
Indonesia has allocated about 14 trillion rupiah (some 1.54 billion U.S. dollars) to support the weaponry modernization plan for 2011 and 2012, he said.
Terrorism and separatist movements are among the main threats being faced by the Indonesian army.
Source: XINHUA
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