Phase 1 is
on semi-knocked down production while Phase 2 is on completely-knocked down
production. A proposal for a Phase 3 on
research and development is already on the table although the focus is
currently on the first two phases. (photo : ifeng)
China and
Indonesia have started talks on the ambitious local production of C-705
anti-ship missiles as part of
Indonesia’s efforts to achieve independence in weapons production.
The defense
cooperation reflects strengthening ties between both countries amid heightening
tension in the South China Sea involving China and a number of Indonesia’s
ASEAN neighbors.
Defense
Ministry chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Hartind Asrin said that the initial talks
were conducted during the first China-Indonesia defense industry cooperation
meeting held in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The
ministry’s defense potential director general Pos M. Hutabarat hosted the
Chinese delegation which was led by Liu Yunfeng, a deputy director general at
the Chinese State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for
National Defense (SASTIND).
“The meeting
discussed various efforts to improve cooperation between the defense industries
of both countries,” Hartind said on Thursday. “We’ve already prepared an area
for the [missile] production site that faces the open sea for trials.”
Hartind said
the C-705 had a range of 120 kilometers.
He said that
the Indonesian Navy had successfully test-fired the C-705 missiles in the Sunda
Strait.
“China has
also offered to donate weapons systems that Indonesia might need,” he added.
A source
said that Indonesia was expected to reply to Phase 1 of the missile proposal at
the end of August and Phase 2 one month later. A contract is expected to be
signed in 2013.
Phase 1 is
on semi-knocked down production while Phase 2 is on completely-knocked down
production.
A proposal
for a Phase 3 on research and development is already on the table although the
focus is currently on the first two phases.
Aside from
the missile production, a number of Indonesian Army Special Force Command
(Kopassus) members recently conducted the second “Sharp Knife” joint exercise
with Chinese Special Forces operatives earlier this month in Jinan, Shandong,
China.
China has
also offered to train 10 pilots from the Indonesian Air Force to train using a
Sukhoi simulator in China.
Commenting
on the defense cooperation, defense expert Andi
Widjajanto said the industrial cooperation was solely to gain access to
more advanced technology.
“However, it
will take a long time for us to be independent in the defense industry, perhaps
after 2024. This is the reason Indonesia builds partnerships with many
countries that possess modern military technologies,” he said. “This is also
why we require partner countries to transfer their technologies to us in any
agreement we sign with them.”
Andi added
that there were two goals in terms of the partnership: to access advanced
rocket technology, and to collaborate in upholding maritime security, which
began when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed an agreement in March
during a state visit to Beijing.
“I don’t
believe it has anything to do with conflicts in the South China Sea,” he
stressed.
Meanwhile,
chairman of the House of Representatives’ Commission I on defense issues,
Mahfudz Shiddiq, said such global partnerships in the defense industry were
designed to develop Indonesia’s own industry.
“We have
allocated Rp 150 trillion [US$15.8 billion] to modernize our weapons-defense
system from 2010 to 2014. It would be wasteful paying such a huge amount to
foreign defense industries without any attempt to improve our own,” he said.
“Therefore,
we require partner countries to transfer their military technologies in the
hope that they will gradually improve our own technologies.”
He added
that the partnership with China was due to its advanced military technologies
in fields such as rocketry. “This is not political, even though others might
link the partnership to political issues, for example the South China Sea
disputes,” Machfudz said.
Indonesia
already cooperates on weapons production with several other countries including
South Korea to build jet fighters and submarines, the Netherlands to build
frigates and Spain to build medium transport aircraft.
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