January 18 2012, Jakarta: National Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Admiral Agus Suhartono said Indonesia`s military remains constantly aware of the possibility of a military embargo being imposed on the country for some reason.
"A possible embargo has always been a reason for the TNI to feel worried when it wants to procure weapons from overseas," Agus said after the first day of a TNI leadership meeting here on Wednesday.
Therefore, he said, a thorough study had to be done before planning to procure weapons to see whether the hardware to be acquired would really meet existing needs and to determine which country they would be acquired from.
"We as users always study what will meet our needs and which country they will be acquired from. Only after they have all been confirmed will we do it through contracts," he said.
The TNI commander said the government especially the TNI had cooperated with many countries to complete and modernize the country`s arsenal.
"For example, in the procurement of submarines we have been cooperating with South Korea and missiles with China and others," he said.
Indonesia was the target of a military embargo by the US and its allies in 1999 in connection with alleged violations of human rights by the country`s military in then East Timor or now Timor Leste.
The embargo caused the level of readiness and capability of the country`s military`s weapons to decline drastically especially weapons made by the US and its allies. The embargo was eventually lifted in stages as of November 2005.
An embargo threat has now emerged again from the Dutch parliament that has rejected the TNI`s plan to purchase 100 Leopard Main Battle Tanks due to TNI`s alleged human rights violations in the past.
Source: ANTARA News
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