We must support and protect it (to strengthen) Indonesian national resilience and generate foreign exchange earnings for the country.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government must support and protect the national defense industry in view of its strategic role in preserving state sovereignty, a lawmaker has said.

"We must support and protect it (to strengthen) Indonesian national resilience and generate foreign exchange earnings for the country," Vice House Speaker and Coordinator of Industry and Development Rachmat Gobel said, according to a written statement released in Jakarta on Monday.

He made the remarks while visiting a privately-run hi-tech defense industry in Banyuwangi, East Java.

During the visit to the defense industry owned by PT Lundin Industry Invest, Gobel took a look at a ship with a capacity of 60 passengers and equipped with bulletproof technology and a rocket launcher owned by the Indonesian military (TNI).

The company has exported several of its products to Australia, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei Darussalam, and Russia,

The technology used for the products also meets NATO and NASA standards.

"It is not easy to have an excellent defense industry because it is usually very difficult to receive the transfer of military technology from developed countries. But now, we have a private company, which is able to produce them," he said.

He then appealed to the government to support the industry.

To date, there have been 16 companies in Indonesia that have engaged in the defense sector. One of them is owned by Tommy Winata and produces tactical vehicles. The others are Pindad, Boma Bisma, Dahana, PT PAL, and Dirgantara Indonesia.

The strategic state-owned companies were pioneered during the era of President Sukarno and developed in the era of President Suharto.

"In the past, our state budget was still small but now, it is quite large. So, the time has come to protect and prioritize the national defense industry, which constitutes the strategic industry," he said.

Indonesia's gross domestic product has continued to increase and made it among the top 20 countries in the world, he added.

Moreover, Indonesia is a maritime state so it requires a great deal of ships to safeguard its waters.

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Translator: Risbiani Fardaniah, Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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