Arientha Primanita – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday enacted two key laws deemed vital for the nation's military as the Armed Forces celebrated its 67th anniversary.
In his address at the ceremony, staged at the Halim Perdanakusuma military airbase in East Jakarta, he noted his passages.
"Today, I signed the Law on the Defense Industry and the Law on Veterans," the president said, adding that the laws were dedicated to the services the military, known as the TNI, had given the nation.
Analysts say that the Law on the Defense Industry will provide the framework for the country to revamp its ailing munitions business, obliging the TNI to purchase the majority of its weaponry locally. The government would also gain a key legal basis needed to provide fiscal incentives, guaranteed financing and tax exemptions to weapons producers and their supporting industries.
"I say that the TNI is the primary component [of] the country's defense system. Our priority is to maintain and protect the sovereignty of our state and war is always the last resort. 'Peace-Loving Indonesia' is our motto, but Indonesia loves its independence even more," Yudhoyono said.
The president said modernizing Indonesia's weaponry was not intended for aggressive purposes.
"It is part of efforts to build a minimum essential force," he said. "I have often said in various international forums that we have no intention whatsoever to conduct an arms race nor an aggression toward another country militarily.
"We are conducting the modernization of [our] weapons solely for safeguarding and defending our sovereignty and territorial integrity," Yudhoyono added.
The president said that the military would soon have modern equipment in its arsenal. Indonesia has recently been in talks with Germany over the purchase of Leopard tanks and with the United States about the acquisition of Apache helicopters.
Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro also said the Law on the Defense Industry was vital for the country. "The law is important to realize an effective defense industry and to produce defense and security equipment," he said.
Yudhoyono also added that the government planned to build large scale housing for TNI soldiers in the next two years. "For its implementation, I ask the defense minister, the TNI chief and the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs of staff to build synergy and cooperate with each other to help realize the housing project for soldiers," he said.
Yudhoyono said the military should also utilize its logistics and military engineering units to provide soldiers with houses which they can own after their retirement. Military housing complexes have been the source of conflicts for years, with retirees or heirs to deceased officers refusing to leave the homes that formally belong to the military.
The president, however, warned that there would be no more tolerance for such escapades once the housing project was under way. "In the future, I hope that the regulation is clear and firm in order to avoid conflicts over the right to use TNI official houses, as has frequently happened," he said.
The president pointed out that the government would continue to improve the welfare of TNI soldiers in line with its efforts to step up the prosperity of all people in the country.
[Additional reporting from Antara.]