Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Indonesia's plan to diversify its purchase of military equipment may be realized with British defense companies eyeing Indonesia as a promising market for their products and a potential production base.
A group of British military equipment companies, including VT Shipbuilding, BDL System Limited and Radamec Limited, which visited Indonesia with British warship HMS Monmouth recently, have expressed interest in supplying military equipment to Indonesia's military and police forces as well as building a factory here.
"We are very eager to supply Indonesia with our products as we consider the country an ally, and there have been no concerns over human rights issues during the last several years," Steve Williams, sales and marketing director of BDL System Limited, told The Jakarta Post during a British military exhibition near the HMS Monmouth at the Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta.
The companies demonstrated the latest shipbuilding technology, explosive-detector equipment, naval telecommunications, radar equipment, sub-marine technology, explosives and light arms at the exhibition.
The companies were also looking further afield during their visit, hoping to forge cooperation with domestic companies to establish a production base in the country.
"We want to sell our ships to Indonesian users. But what we want more is to set up a production base here because our factories in England are at full capacity. We have difficulty building new ships anywhere in England," Sym Taylor, sales director of VT Shipbuilding International, told the Post. He said he is scheduled to talk with several Indonesian companies, including Indonesia's largest ship producer PT PAL, about the possibility of opening a shipbuilding base in Indonesia.
"I think it would benefit Indonesia as a whole because there would be a technology transfer and massive employment opportunities for local people as we intend to bring in only a few English staff," he said.
British Commander in Chief Admiral James Burnell-Nugent, who met with Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono, Indonesian Military chief Air Marshall Djoko Suyanto and Navy chief Admiral Slamet Soebijanto during his visit to Indonesia, said Britain and Indonesia have been intensifying military-to-military relations since a visit from Prime Minister Tony Blair to the country last year.
"We've talked about how we can do more to cooperate and train together as well as share ideas and understanding. And whatever the Indonesian armed forces want we are very happy to help with," he told the Post.
British Ambassador to Indonesia Charles Humfrey said Britain would treat Indonesia as it would treat any other friendly country in terms of the export of military equipment. "If Indonesia is interested in purchasing weapons, we're very happy to discuss the matter and sell equipment to Indonesia," he said.
Williams said his company could meet the needs of Indonesian police and security guards at malls and hotels to effectively prevent and fight terrorist acts.
He said the Indonesian Mobile Brigade (Brimob) has used several of his company's products for years. "We provide training so Indonesian users can handle the equipment well," he said. The British government has also offered to provide import credit for Indonesia, Williams said.
Due to the fact many Indonesian inter-island ferries have been involved in accidents caused by out-dated technology in recent years, Leonard B. Whittaker, the chairman of Radamec Limited, has offered to upgrade Indonesian ships with new control systems able to monitor all units in ships and quickly send warnings if something is wrong. "It is more economical than buying new ships," he said.
Williams and Whittaker both guaranteed that British products would be cheaper than products from other countries, including the US.