ARMY TO TIGHTEN LIMITS ON ARMS PROCUREMENT

Jakarta, Jan 8 (ANTARA) - Army Chief of Staff General Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo said the army would put more stringent limits on its arms procurement and reduce the frequency of routine exercises in view of a decrease in the defense budget this year.
"With the budge reduction, we will conduct internal consolidation to evaluate all policies, including training for soldiers and procurement of heavy weapons such as tanks," the army chief said here on Thursday.
He said routine training for soldiers would be carried out at unit level only while joint excercises would be suspended.
"The army's budget which was initially set at Rp16 trillion has been reduced to Rp15 trillion," he said.
He said the weaponry system would be focused on armaments for the infantry, artillery and cavalry.
The army's defense capability would depend on various combat vehicles whose readiness condition now was only 60 percent and warplanes whose combat readiness was only about 50 percent.
The need for communications equipment which constituted the main support of the army's capability could not yet be fulfilled either. The army still used a technology which was prone to tapping.
Previously, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said that Indonesia needed to modernize its military but the efforts to that effect should be carried out in stages and in an efficient way due to limited funds.
"We have to carry out modernization because it would increase Indonesia's deterrent capability and boost the spirit to soldiers," he said.
He said the decline in the defense budget in 2009 as compared with that in 2008 would however not affect Indonesia's readiness to carry out military operations.
"The fund allocation amounting to Rp33.6 trillion has forced us to accurately plan weapon modernization, arms maintenance and the welfare of personnel," he said.
Juwono said that the arrival of three Sukhoi jet fighter aircraft, four warships of the Corvette Sigma Class and six Mi-17 assault transport helicopters in 2009 would at least increase the deterrence capability of the three services.