Minister reiterates weight

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 05/30/2007 8:44 AM

JAKARTA: Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Tuesday the defense treaty with Singapore was important for maximizing the benefits of using the city-state's military technology because neighboring countries would not want to see a militarily strong Indonesia.

""What they want is Indonesia to be stable and intact, but not strong in a military sense so they can invade us with their banks and services,"" he was quoted as saying by detik.com.

Thus, Juwono added, the House of Representatives should be able to see the benefits of the treaty rather than focus on the possibility of Singapore launching a military exercise with a third party in Indonesian territory -- which could be a consequence of the treaty.

Citing an example, the minister said Thai companies had established shrimp farms around Papua and Malaysia and acquired Indonesian banks.

The House has threatened to reject the treaty over fears it is more advantageous to Singapore than to Indonesia. -- JP

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