Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said his side planned to improve the distribution of personnel across the country's territories, especially in the eastern part of Indonesia, including in Papua.

"We hope military personnel and military bases are no longer concentrated around Java, but also in the border areas so that those [bases] help create new economic centers and trigger development," Gatot was quoted as saying by Antara on Thursday at TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

When asked to give further details about the plan, Gatot said the TNI would focus on distributing naval personnel first, while the expansion of Army and Air Force bases had yet to be planned.

"Currently, the TNI has only been focused on [developing] the Eastern Fleet. We need to establish a new fleet in Papua," Gatot added.

Currently, the TNI has the Eastern Fleet based in Surabaya and Western Fleet in Jakarta. (dmr)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/01/20/indonesian-military-to-build-naval-base-in-papua.html