DEFENSE BUDGET RISE MAINLY FOR MAINTENANCE: MINISTER

Jakarta, July 16 (ANTARA) - The planned 20-percent rise in the 2010 defense budget will be mainly spent on maintenance and servicing of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) military hardware, a minister said.

"We will use most of the budget rise on the maintenance of military cargo C-130 Hercules planes which play a strategic role in both military and non-military operations such as humanitarian missions at home and abroad," Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said here on Thursday.

In addition, Juwono said, the budget would also be spent on the maintenance of the Navy warships and a number of ground battle vehicles.

But he added that the procurement of new sophisticated and costly armaments such as submarines would not be realized under the 2010 state budget because economic recovery and social welfare were still the government's first priority.

The defense ministry admitted, however, the defense budget rise of 20 percent was still inadequate because it was still not enough to meet the military's minimum needs for armaments.

Meanwhile, National Defense Forces (TNI) spokesman Rear Marshal Sagom Tamboen said here on Tuesday that the expected 20-percent increase in the 2010 defense budget would be used to procure replacements for some of the TNI's obsolete armaments such as OV-10 Bronco and Hawk MK-53 aircraft.

"But we will procure the new hardware in stages because the defense budget rise will also be spent on maintenance and treatment of existing armaments," Tamboen said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said recently that starting next year the government would raise the defense budget significantly from Rp33.6 trillion this year to Rp40.6 trillion, or an increase by 20 percent in 2010.

According to the head of state, the budget increase in 2010 would be the starting point of the gradual expansion of the defense budget over the coming years.

"Year after year we are going to increase the defense budget, and so we will get closer and closer to the minimum military strength that we need," the president said, adding the minimum military strength the country should have required a budget of Rp100 to Rp120 trillion.

He said the increase in the defense budget would be realized in accordance with national economic growth.