UK, Indonesia to strengthen defense ties
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | World | Thu, January 17 2013, 2:14 PM
Reinforced relationship: Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro welcomes UK counterpart Philip Hammond (right) ahead of their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Jakarta on Wednesday. During his two-day visit, Hammond will also meet with several government officials and representatives of the Indonesian Armed Forces. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)Reinforced relationship: Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro welcomes UK counterpart Philip Hammond (right) ahead of their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Jakarta on Wednesday. During his two-day visit, Hammond will also meet with several government officials and representatives of the Indonesian Armed Forces. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
The UK and Indonesia agreed on Wednesday to strengthen defense cooperation in various fields from training and education to weapons procurement and civil-military cooperation (CIMIC).
The various fields of cooperation were agreed upon during a bilateral meeting between the UK Defense Secretary Philip Hammond and his Indonesian counterpart Purnomo Yusgiantoro.
Purnomo said the meeting was a follow up to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was signed during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit to London in 2012.
“Earlier in 2006, we signed up to a partnership forum during [former] prime minister Tony Blair’s visit to Jakarta. The forum included enhancing defense cooperation,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hammond said that Wednesday’s meeting was “about building on that MoU and turning it into reality or practical cooperation”.
“For us, defense collaboration with Indonesia is a very logical, strategic step,” he added.
According to Purnomo, the cooperation will include training and human resources development, such as cooperation between the Indonesian Defense University (IDU) and Cranfield University as well as between the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) and its British counterpart.
“In procurement, we have a number of British-made weapon systems and we need their support, including shared experiences in procurement and life cycle systems, as well as weapons maintenance,” he said.
Both countries also agreed to share experiences in armed forces management, especially regarding reserve force and welfare systems.
“The UK has a reserve model while we don’t. The British delegation shared its experiences, such as in Afghanistan, that in addition to deploying regular soldiers, they also deploy a reserve force,” Purnomo said.
Hammond said the UK was a trading country and that most trading was done via sea routes, making it imperative to secure these trading routes.
Another field of cooperation is in maritime security, as both countries are greatly concerned with securing major trading routes and sea lines of communication (SLOC).
“We also shared experiences on CIMIC, such as in disaster relief,” Purnomo said.
When asked about the procurement of British-made weapon systems, Purnomo referred the question to the Defense Facilities Agency head Maj. Gen. Ediwan Prabowo.
Ediwan said that the ministry had signed contracts to procure Starstreak short range air defense missile as well as spare parts for Hawk 109/209 trainer and ground attack aircraft and for Scorpion light tanks.
Indonesian military attache in London, Col. Jonni Mahroza, told The Jakarta Post that the Starstreak contract covered one missile battery that consisted of nine launchers. Ideally, an air defense battalion has three missile batteries.
After the meeting, Hammond delivered a general lecture for IDU students followed by a question and answer session.
Answering a question, Hammond said that British defense industries were ready to cooperate with Indonesian firms on initiatives such as the Indonesian-Korea KFX jet fighter program.
UK, Indonesia to strengthen defense ties | The Jakarta Post
British, Indonesian Defense Ministers Seek to Boost Ties
Jakarta Globe | January 15, 2013
British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond will meet with his Indonesian counterpart Purnomo Yusgiantoro in Jakarta on Wednesday during a two-day visit to Indonesia intended to boost the countries’ defense ties.
The British Embassy in Jakarta said the visit will reinforce the strong relationship between the two countries.
Hammond, who will arrive today, will meet Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa after meeting with Purnomo.
The embassy said that Hammond’s meeting with Purnomo will build on the recently signed defense memorandum of understanding between Britain and Indonesia.
He will also meet with several other government officials and representatives of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).
“The visit clearly demonstrates UK commitment to strengthen defense links with Indonesia. The success of the recent state visit made by President Yudhoyono to the UK and Prime Minister David Cameron to Indonesia in April last year has cemented cooperation between the UK and Indonesia in various sectors including defense cooperation,” British Ambassador to Indonesia Mark Canning said.
He said that as the largest democracy in the region and a nation that is playing a constructive and important role in regional security, Indonesia remains an important partner for Britain.
“This visit is further evidence of our relationship with Indonesia going from strength to strength,” Canning added.
During their November meeting in London, Yudhoyono and Cameron signed a string of agreements on trade, defense and education.
Downing Street said at the time that Cameron and Yudhoyono had sealed a defense deal that would boost cooperation in research and development, investment and production.
Yudhoyono told a seminar at London’s Royal College for Defense Studies that Indonesia would continue to modernize its defense capability to protect its sovereignty and territory.
The president said he was happy that Britain had played an active role in modernizing Indonesia’s defense system.
Cameron and Yudhoyono also announced a 7.5 billion pound ($12.1 billion) deal for BP to develop liquid natural gas in Indonesia, and signed an agreement strengthening links between the two countries’ universities.
Hammond, a member of Cameron’s Conservative Party, assumed his current role in October 2011.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/british-indonesian-defense-ministers-seek-to-boost-ties/565749