Indonesia to build up defense capabilities with new aircraft

Indonesia will continue boosting its defense capabilities, President Prabowo Subianto said Monday.

The Southeast Asian nation, which pursues a policy of diplomatic non-alignment, must "continue to improve the defense capabilities to serve as a deterrent", Prabowo told reporters at a ceremony at a military air base in Jakarta. He said Indonesia does "not have any interests other than protecting the own territory".

"They observe that the global geopolitical landscape is fraught with uncertainty, and they recognize that defense is a primary prerequisite for stability," he added. Prabowo inspected defence equipment recently procured for the Indonesian military, including four Dassault Falcon 8X jets and an Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft.