Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid blasted the United States Monday for its embargo on weapons sales to Indonesia and said the military would procure arms elsewhere to deal with the multiple crises threatening the country's unity.
"We should not give in to intimidation by anybody," Wahid said after attending the commemoration of the 55th anniversary of the Indonesian Air Force. "We don't need to depend on one country," Wahid said. "We have to be able to carry out diversification of aircraft to defend our nation."
The Clinton administration froze military ties and weapons sales in the aftermath of a rampage by the Indonesian army in East Timor in 1999 when hundreds of people were killed and much of the territory devastated.
Indonesia's military brass said the ban had hampered its ability to deal with escalating separatist rebellions in Aceh and Irian Jaya provinces, a sectarian conflict in the Maluku islands, and intercommunal violence on Borneo island in which 500 people died in February.
Wahid's comments came just minutes after military commander Adm. Widodo Adisutjipto warned that a "multidimensional crisis" is threatening the unity of the sprawling Southeast Asian archipelago.
The United States has traditionally been Indonesia's main weapons supplier, and annual arms sales peaked at over $400 million in the early 1990s.
As well as facing rising communal violence and separatist conflicts, Indonesia is currently battling a crippling economic downturn and budgetary deficit blowout. Wahid did not say how his cash-strapped administration would be able to fund arms purchases.
Defense Minister Mohammad Mahfud said last month that Indonesia was trying to procure military equipment from nations whose governments did not object to its human rights record.
He said only two of the 26 US-built Hercules C-130 transports were airworthy during the bloodshed in Borneo because of a shortage of spare parts. This prevented the air force from flying in army and police reinforcements.
Washington has rejected Jakarta's criticism saying that the ban on spare parts sales was relaxed last year to allow the air force and navy – which were not blamed for the bloodshed in Timor or other human rights abuses – to purchase non-lethal equipment.
As if to illustrate the problems caused by the embargo, an air force aerobatic team comprising three different types of jets aircraft mounted a display of precision flying techniques during the ceremony held at a base outside Jakarta.
Air Marshall Hanafie Asnan said the 8-plane team – consisting of two F-16 Fighting Falcons, five Hawk MK53 attack jets and a single Hawk-100 two-seat trainer and known as Jupiter Blue – was unique in the world because other air forces used only a single type in their aerobatic squadrons.
Although the Hawks are produced in Britain, they use US-made communications and navigational equipment.
"We just witnessed, how the F-16s have been cannibalized from one squadron, leaving only two aircraft that can fly," Wahid said. "And those Hawks, those beautiful planes, are also facing a shortage of spare parts."