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AKARTA: The government has unveiled plans to build a number of military bases to further secure the nation'€™s border regions, especially in areas bordering the South China Sea, National Development Planning Minister Andrinof Chaniago has said.

Andrinof said that the blueprint for the project was now being prepared by the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) and the Defense Ministry.

Andrinof and Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu met to discuss the plans on Friday.

'€œOur meeting today was aimed at combining our goals to protect national interests and to safeguard the sovereignty of the country, especially in border regions,'€ Andrinoff said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Bappenas and the Defense Ministry have agreed to set up an assessment team to look into a proposal to build military bases in locations such as Sambas, Tanjung Datuk, Natuna and Tarakan, all border towns in the northern part of Kalimantan.

'€œWe will brief the President for a final decision. Hopefully, we can start the project in the near future,'€ Andrinof added.

Ryamizard said that more military bases were needed in regions around the South China Sea.

'€œIt would be appropriate to build a military base there. Our natural resources in Natuna have a large potential. We must also protect our abundant marine resources,'€ he said.