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View all search resultsPundits debate merits of acquiring aircraft carrier as foreign loan approved
Scholars have reminded the Indonesian Navy to carefully study the planned acquisition of the Italian decommissioned light aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, weighing both the merits and disadvantages of having a capital ship.
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The Italian Navy light aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi is seen in this undated picture at an unknown location. The National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) has approved a foreign loan limit of US$450 million for the Indonesian Navy to acquire the carrier. (Courtesy of Italian Navy/-)
D
ebate has erupted as government planners greenlight the planned acquisition of an Italian light aircraft carrier to strengthen the Indonesian Navy’s capabilities
The National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) has reportedly approved a foreign loan limit of US$450 million to finance the acquisition of ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi, which was decommissioned on Oct. 1, 2024.
Bappenas also approved loans worth $250 million for transport helicopters and $300 million for utility helicopters. There are no details on which helicopter types will be acquired.
Observers contacted separately by The Jakarta Post were weighing the merits and disadvantages of procuring a carrier, especially considering Indonesia’s financial shortages.
“With a limited budget, it is much more urgent for the Indonesian Navy to procure more submarines, surface combatant vessels and patrol boats, instead of an aircraft carrier,” Tangguh Chairil, an international relations lecturer from Binus University, said on Friday.
He also emphasized that an aircraft carrier’s main role was for force projection outside the country’s own territory.
“Indonesia does not adopt this outgoing doctrine, so the planned acquisition of the aircraft carrier is not in line with the existing doctrine,” he said.
