Indonesia to buy 8 jet fighters from Russia

Indonesia plans to annually purchase two Sukhoi jet fighters from Russia during the 2006-2009 period, thus putting its total number of jet fighters at 12, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said here Wednesday.

The minister said the purchase aims at anticipating possible ban by western countries of buying spare parts of military equipment.

"The plan is (to buy) two planes per year up to 2009. We anticipate the possibility of impossing embargo by western countries," said Juwono.

Currently, Indonesia had four Sukhoi planes bought from Russia.

The minister said Indonesia has rejected similar offer from some Eastern European countries and insists to buy from Russia, as both sides once had official military cooperation.

Indonesian military had been embargoed on military equipment purchase by the United States, following the accussation of gross violation of human rights during the referendum for Independece in East Timor in 1999. The ban was lifted recently due to Indonesia's seriousness in combatting terrorism and reform of the military force.

Source: Xinhua