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AKARTA: Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Wednesday the government will buy a squadron of 16 South Korean-made T-50 Golden Eagles, paving the way for the East Asian country’s first exports of the trainer jets.

Purnomo said the Defense Ministry was still coordinating with the Finance Ministry and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) on budget and purchase mechanisms, Antara news agency reported.

Neither Indonesia nor South Korea disclosed the value of the deal, which has been in negotiations since 2010.

If the deal proceeds as planned, the Korean jets will replace obsolete British BAE Hawk MK-53 jets currently used by the Indonesian Air Force.

Both countries also agreed to continue work on the KFX jet fighter project, initiated in 2009.

Indonesia will reportedly contribute 20 percent of the initial project capital of around US$8 billion.

Indonesia is set to buy 50 jet fighters under the KFX progam, while South Korea pledged to buy 200.

An alleged break-in at a hotel room in Seoul where Indonesian officials were staying during an official visit in February was widely linked with the T-50 purchase plan and the KFX project.

Both governments have denied allegations of impropriety, claiming that unidentified people had merely “entered a wrong room.” — JP