RI'S DEFENSE SYSTEM NEEDS TOTAL TRANSFORMATION : OBSERVER

Jakarta, June 17 (ANTARA) - Indonesia's defense system needs a total transformation if the country's military strength is to be made equal to those of other countries, an observer said.

"Our ccountry's defense system is not merely a matter of making enough funds available because what it needs is an overall transformation," Connie Rahakundini, a military observer at the Institute of Defense and Security Studies (IODAS), said here on Wednesday.

According to Rahakundini, political support from the government and all parties in the country for the procurement of military software was needed for an overall transformation of the military system to balance other countries' military power.

"Indonesia has yet to be able to make a military revolution because it needs strong financial support, but it also needs military transformation that can be supported by the parliament and the government," Rahakundini said.

Asked if the related officials in the National Defense Forces (TNI) and Defense Ministry should resign following the repeated accidents involving military hardware , Rahakundini said it was not necessary.

"It would be reckless to suspend the related TNI and Defense Ministry officials following the repeated accidents because it is not the best possible solution for the transformation of the military system. How could we professionalize our military if the related authorities are urged to resign as part of their responsibility in the accidents?", Rahakundini asked.

A number of military hardware accidents had happened in the past six months and this had really reduced the TNI's operational alertness level.

The crash of an Indonesian Army helicopter that killed three of its five crew and passengers in West Java on Monday was the sixth military aircraft accident this year.

A Fokker F-27 Troopship from the Indonesian Air Force crashed at a hanger in Bandung Husein Sastranegara Air Force base compound on April 6, 2009 killing six crew and 24 soldiers.

The deadliest and the latest tragedy was the crash of an Air Force C-130 Hercules in Magetan district, East Java, that killed 101 people including 52 TNI officers and soldiers on May 20, this year.

The first accident this year was in March when a Hughes helicopter crashed in Semarang, with no casualties. Two other minor accidents occurred in April and May.