Navy plans to equip its patrol ships with guided missiles

Jakarta, Oct 6 (ANTARA) - Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno said on Monday the Navy plans to equip its patrol ships with guided missiles to increase their deterrent capability.

"We will increase the number of patrol ships and equip them with Chinese- and Russian-made guided missiles in stages," he said after attending a ceremony to mark the 64th anniversary of the Indonesian military (TNI) at the TNI Headquarters here.

The patrol ships would be made of steel rather than fiber, he said.

"It is true that budget constraints have made us very careful in setting our priority scale," he said.

Therefore, he added, a Rp40.7 trillion increase in the 2010 defense budget would be chiefly used to improve the preparedness of the TNI's main armament system by among others equipping patrol ships with guided missiles.

"In addition, we will also procure transport ships and patrol ships instead of war ships or submarines because the state budget still focuses on improving the people's welfare," he said.

The patrol ships would be deployed to safeguard the country's sea borders while the transport ships could be used to carry personnel and logistics as well as to support disaster mitigation efforts, he said.

Asked to comment on the suspended procurement of two new submarines, the naval chief said he fully left the matter to the government to decide.

"The matter is still being processed at the Defense Ministry. Let us wait. We fully leave it to the government to decide," he said.

Earlier, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said the ministry had postponed the signing of a contract for the procurement of two new submarines from originally 2010 to 2011
Consequently, the two submarines could be delivered only in 2012 or 2013.

After all, the ministry continued to process the planned procurement of the two submarines particularly after two foreign countries, Russia and South Korea, had expressed interest in supplying the submarines to Indonesia, he said.