Ina Parlina, Jakarta – In a move to enhance support for the Indonesian Military (TNI), President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo promised on Tuesday that he would allocate more funds to it if the economy got better this year.
Arguing that primary weaponry systems (Alutsista) were essential for building a professional TNI, Jokowi said he would put as much as 1.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) into the defense budget, about Rp 250 trillion, if economic growth reaches above 6 percent.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician said that the TNI budget is currently set at about 1.1 percent of the country's GDP. In comparison, the average military budget between 2005 and 2014 was 0.82 percent of the country's GDP, while the average between 2000 and 2004 was 0.78 percent.
"This plan [to allocate 1.5 percent of the GDP] should be prepared now. It means that there should be comprehensive and detailed planning so that the budget can be used appropriately and efficiently," Jokowi said during a limited Cabinet meeting.
Aiming to reduce imports by developing the domestic defense industry, Jokowi also ordered any future plans to involve the use of Indonesian military products.
Jokowi expressed an aggressive plan for military spending in his election campaign in 2014, during which he vowed in front hundreds of retired military and police generals that it would be raised if economic growth stayed at least at 7 percent.
At that time, he unveiled his programs on defense and security issues that included the modernization of Alutsista and increasing the numbers of military and police personnel.
In his pledge, Jokowi also said that he would gradually increase the defense budget from US$7.2 billion in 2014 to $20 billion in 2019 and he intended to procure new jet fighters, radars and military transportation aircraft, as well as to improve border security.
The President seemed to be unnerved by the economic slowdown last year as well as by a number of accidents involving old military equipment since he took office.
The latest accident was the fatal crash of a Brazilian-made Super Tucano aircraft in a densely populated area of Malang in East Java during a test flight, killing the pilot, an onboard technician and two people in a building.
In December last year, a T50i Golden Eagle jet fighter crashed during an acrobatic airshow in Yogyakarta, killing the two pilots on board.
One of the most fatal incidents occurred in July last year when a Hercules C-130, which was received by Indonesia from a foreign country under a grant scheme, crashed into a residential area in Medan, killing more than 120, including civilians on board the plane.
In April last year, a F-16 jet fighter from the US government burst into flames at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta after failing to take off.
During the Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, TNI chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo presented an example of development programs that should be made, including to develop air force bases outside Java and navy posts on border islands, as well as to improve equipment and capacity in eastern Indonesia.
All this time, military development has been focused on Java where a number of air force bases are located, like those, for example, in Madiun, Yogyakarta and Malang.
"We will develop Biak, Morotai and Merauke, etc. [to provide facilities to ensure pilots can fly and train any time]," said Gatot who also admitted that naval development has often taken place elsewhere and not on the border islands.
"We will pay attention to outer islands like Lerang and Wetan so that we can have eyes and ears there to inform us about any situation at any time," he added.
However, Gatot said his office would see first whether the future state budget would able to give them flexibility to support such programs. The TNI also seeks to improve cyber units and military intelligence units.
Iis Gindarsah, a defense expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, criticized the ambitious plan, saying that "tripling the defense budget is ambitious, but realistic only if Indonesia's economic growth rate is at least 7 percent".
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/24/jokowi-pledges-ambitious-arms-spending.html