Military might: Air Force personnel marching during a parade marking the 78th anniversary of the Indonesian Armed Forces in Jakarta. — AFP
President Joko Widodo emphasised the importance of military hardware modernisation but warned any spending should be done wisely as the state budget was limited.
The archipelago nation of 270 million people, South-East Asia’s biggest economy, is seeking to modernise its military but has lagged its regional peers in recent years.
“Spending for military hardware must be done wisely, in terms of the amount or allocation,” Jokowi said during an armed forces parade.
Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, a likely candidate seeking to replace the outgoing Jokowi next year, has led a series of procurements of late, including 42 Dassault Rafale fighter jets for US$8.1bil (RM38.2bil), 12 new drones from Turkish Aerospace worth US$300mil (RM1.4bil), and 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets valued at US$800mil (RM3.7bil).
Jokowi in July also warned his Cabinet to maintain a “healthy” budget as he highlighted outsized spending by the security agencies, including the defence ministry.
For the past decade, Indonesia’s defence spending per capita and as a percentage of gross domestic product has been the lowest among South-East Asia’s six emerging market economies, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank. — Reuters
