Indonesia Needs US Assistance to Secure Malacca Straits
Wednesday, 14 February, 2007 | 13:30 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono has said that Indonesia needs US assistance to secure the waters around the Malacca Straits and seas of Indonesian islands as well.

The assistance will take the form of facilities and infrastructure.

“This will be better than a delegation of power,” said Juwono prior to meeting with General Peter Pace, Chief of Staff of Joint US Military Force yesterday (02/13) in Jakarta.

According to him, the infrastructure aid is required to strengthen Indonesian Navy.

“This will give us a greater sense of sovereignty,” he said.

The Malacca Straits is known for being prone to piracy, especially around the Riau Islands, and these waters are often made use of by pirates and smugglers.

The reason for this is that the area is in direct contact with Singapore: the main harbor of world traffic.

On Monday (02/12), Admiral Eiji Yoshikawa, Chief of Staff of Japanese Navy, met Juwono.

They have discussed about a program to improve partnership upon securing the Malacca Straits as almost all Japanese trade ships cross through the straits.

Meanwhile, on the same day, General Peter Pace met President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Presidential Office.

They discussed the military partnership between Indonesia and the US as well as the development of conflicts in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula.

As regards military partnership, presidential spokesperson Dino Patti Djalal said that this year 57 people will be sent to the US to join the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program.

Other partnerships, said Dino, include Sales Military Forum and Military Financing Forum programs.

The President, Dino continued, said he expected a new dimension in the military partnership with the US, especially as regards humanitarian partnership.

The President referred to the partnership between the Indonesian Military and the US Military when the tsunami hit Aceh as a successful humanitarian operation.

DIAN YULIASTUTI | SUTARTO