JAKARTA: In the latest effort to modernize the Southeast Asian nation’s aging military hardware, the Indonesian defense ministry announced on Wednesday( Sep 13) that it had signed an agreement to purchase a submarine rescue vessel from the British company for US$ 100 million.
On the outside of a defense expo in London on Tuesday, the agreement was signed between Houlder, PT BTI Indo Tekno, vessel producer Submarine Manufacturing & amp, Products, and the company designated as the defense ministry’s partner.
It’s the most recent in a string of large-ticket military acquisitions that have caused controversy in Indonesia, including 12 brand-new Turkish Aerospace drones worth$ 300 million, 42 Dassault Rafale fighter jets costing$ 8.1 billion, and 12 used Mirage 2000 – and 5-flying aircraft worth$ 800 million.
As he emphasized outsized paying by the nation’s security agencies, including the defense department, President Joko Widjodo in July advised his government to keep a” healthy” resources. The largest planning in Indonesia’s state resources for defense this year is 134.3 trillion ringgit( US$ 8.74 billion ).
The British-built submarine can accommodate 50 people, is aircraft versatile, and is made for quick rescue operations. According to the defense department, it will be delivered in its mothership.
When one of Indonesia’s five ships sank during a missile exercise in the Bali Sea in 2021, killing 53 staff people on board, the country was left with no rescue ship.
The defense ministry stated in a statement that” this is part of Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto’s quest to increase the capability of Indian military.”
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute( SIPRI ) think tank, Indonesia’s defense spending per capita and gross domestic product have been the lowest of the six emerging market economies in Southeast Asia for the past ten years.