Tag: Indonesia

It appears Indonesia is getting cold feet in regards to boosting their Air Force capabilities with new fighter jets from South Korea:

 Indonesia has proposed reducing its payment for a joint fighter jet development project with South Korea to around one-third of its original amount, sources said Monday, amid concerns over its delayed payments.

Indonesia recently suggested paying only 600 billion won (US$442.3 million) in total for the KF-21 jet project, they said, after originally agreeing to pay about 20 percent of the 8.1 trillion-won program launched in 2015 to build the advanced supersonic fighter by 2026.

Jakarta had initially agreed to pay the sum in return for receiving one prototype model and technology transfers, and producing 48 units in Indonesia, but is said to have proposed reducing the payment amount for fewer technology transfers.

It has so far contributed around 300 billion won to the project and has failed to keep up with payment deadlines, leading to questions over its commitment.

Indonesia is known to have asked South Korea late last year to defer its payment for the project to 2034, but Seoul has maintained its stance that it should be made by the development deadline of 2026.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

We have seen how Chinese fishermen have been challenging South Korean sovereignty well for more perspective, the Indonesians are having the same problem:

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday reaffirmed his country’s sovereignty during a visit to a group of islands at the edge of the South China Sea that China claims as its traditional fishing area.

Widodo, accompanied by top military officials, toured Natuna Islands on a naval ship in a move designed to send a message to Beijing.

“Natuna is part of Indonesia’s territory, there is no question, no doubt,” Widodo said in a speech after the trip. “There is no bargaining for our sovereignty.”

He then presided over a meeting with local administration officials and fishermen, discussing issues including development of the remote islands, about 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) north of the capital, Jakarta.

His visit came a week after China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang in a news briefing in Beijing insisted that Chinese fishermen are free to conduct activities in their traditional fishing ground, which partly overlaps with Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone.

“Whether the Indonesian side accepts it or not, nothing will change the objective fact that China has rights and interests over the relevant waters,” Shuang said.

Shuang’s statement drew a nationwide indignation in Indonesia and prompted the military to beef up its forces at the islands. Although China has been making such claims for years, recently dozens of Chinese fishing boats, escorted by its coast guard vessels, were reportedly making more aggressive moves in the area and ignoring Indonesia’s warnings to leave.

Associated Press

You can read more at the link.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (L) plants a commemorative tree with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at Bogor Palace south of Jakarta on Nov. 9, 2017, to mark his state visit to Indonesia. Moon, who arrived in Indonesia the previous day for a three-day visit, will hold a summit with Widodo to discuss ways to improve cooperation and joint efforts to denuclearize North Korea. (Yonhap)

Meet the S. Korean Companies Destroying Indonesia's Virgin Rainforest | KOREA EXPOSÉ https://t.co/cJHdP9M5et

— KingSejong (@KingSejong) August 15, 2017

She may be quiet, but it appears Siti Aisyah is no longer innocent:

For those who have met Siti Aisyah, the notion that the 25-year-old woman from Serang, Banten, might have been capable of allegedly taking part in a vicious plot to murder a high-profile figure in a foreign country is hard to swallow.

Siti, who is believed to have been arrested in Malaysia for her alleged role in the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has been described by her neighbours and relatives as a “quiet and innocent” girl.

Siti once lived in a house located in a small alley in the densely populated quarters of Tambora district, West Jakarta. There she resided with her former husband Gunawan Hasyim and former father-in-law Liang Kiong, known as Akiong.

To her neighbours, Siti is just one of millions of Indonesians looking for job opportunities in neighbouring Malaysia.

 “She rarely mingled with others. [But] I’m sure that it is her. I recognise her from the picture and I had seen her often back then,” said one of the neighbours named Anisa Fitri as quoted by Antara news agency. “She is a quiet and innocent person from the region,” she added.

Halimah, another neighbor who has lived in Tambora since 1969, was stunned by the news, saying that “[Siti] is poor; it’s a pity that she has been dragged into the case. She once lived next door to me before she moved [to her then father-in-law’s house],” she said.  [The Star]

You can read more about her at the link.

The first ever export of a submarine by South Korea must not have made the Chinese government very happy considering the maritime and territorial disputes they are having with Indonesia in the South China Sea.  If these submarines ever do see combat it would likely be against Chinese ships:

South Korean-made submarine with Hall Number code H7712 has been released from Okpo Port on Thursday, March 24, which was witnessed by Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu along with Indonesian Ambassador for South Korea, John A. Prasetio, and Chief of Navy Staff Admiral Ade Supandi.

According to Indonesian Minister Counselor for the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul, the submarine is the first of three submarine units ordered by Indonesia to secure Indonesian territory. The construction had begun in 2013 at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in Okpo, South Korea. All the process is under the supervision of task forces for submarine procurement project (Satgas Yekda KDSE DSME209) led by Col. Iwan Isnurwanto.

“Based on the contract, the first and second construction of the submarine will be done at DSME, while the third will be done at PT PAL Indonesia shipyard with a transfer of technology (Tot) process,” Aji said in a statement on Thursday.

During the third submarine development process, PT PAL Indonesia has also sent 112 engineers to DSME, South Korea, so they could be directly involved in the ToT process and development study, as well as independent submarine development via on the job training (OJT) stage.

The diesel electric submarine DSME209, which is South Korea’s first export production, is an improvement from Chang Bogo Class type submarine owned by the Republic of Korean Navy (ROK Navy) and Cakra Class submarine, which belongs to the Indonesian Navy. According to Indonesian Military Attaché of the Republic of Indonesia for Seoul, Col. Aditya Kumara, the submarine measured 61.3 meters long with a maximum speed of 21 knots underwater and has the ability to sail for more than 50 days.  [Jakarta Post]

You can read more at the link.

Kim Jong Un to Visit Indonesia Marking First Official Trip Abroad / Sputnik International – http://t.co/xfTuZRsYfc

— Zachary Keck (@ZacharyKeck) January 26, 2015

It seems we can’t go more than a few months without a missing Malaysian linked airplane making headlines:

South Korea’s foreign ministry said Sunday that at least three South Koreans were on board an AirAsia plane that went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore.

The ministry said that a South Korean man and a woman in their 30s, and an infant were among the 162 passengers and crew members on AirAsia’s flight QZ8501 that lost contact with Jakarta’s air traffic control after takeoff early Sunday.

The foreign ministry said it convened an emergency meeting to address the issue, saying that it will monitor progress in the search operations for the missing plane.

“The Seoul government plans to closely watch related authorities’ search operations and will study various options, including the dispatch of a response team,” Lee Jeong-gwan, ambassador for overseas Koreans and consular affairs, said at the opening of the meeting. [Yonhap]

AirAsia’s majority ownership is from a Malaysian company which the industry considers as having a very good safety record.

Why am I not surprised by this:

Korea has been named to the deputy leadership position in an international audit of tsunami disaster relief donations.
It was named to the position on a task force set up to audit the relief funds by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions, a group of national auditors. The announcement was made at the group’s meeting in Norway.

The task force was set up after questions were raised in many countries about the use of the funds donated to help victims of the December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Critics have charged that of the funds that Indonesia and Sri Lanka received for disaster relief, only 10 percent has found its way to the victims.
Jeon Yun-cheol, the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea, was a leading proponent of the special auditing task force within the organization.

It shouldn’t come as no surprise that much of the donated money would be swindled similar to what happened with the 9/11 funds. Hopefully the Korean taskforce can uncover where all the money went.

Why would Korea issue this warning? in regards to islamic radicals establing aid stations.

“This group is here for humanitarian reasons,” said Indonesia’s chief detective, Lt. Gen. Suyitno Landung. “We should not be prejudiced against them. I’m worried the media is exaggerating the threat of this group.”

Against such a backdrop, the South Korean government issued a warning Thursday that it had “acquired intelligence that our relief groups in Indonesia and some other areas are becoming a possible target of terror attacks.”

A South Korean Foreign Ministry official told the AP on condition of anonymity that the statement was “not based on verifiable intelligence” and was a “precautionary warning.”

Any terrorist attack against a country providing relief supplies in the Tsunami affected areas would be totally idiotic. They could not win any popular support from the Indonesian people if they did it. They won’t do it because of these reasons. These Islamic terrorists are smart and well trained plus they are masters of propaganda and watch all the news channels. There is no way they can win anything by attacking American or Korean troops. Is Korea just looking for an excuse not to deploy the ROK Army there?