It will have more defense equipment, war ships, aircraft and marine force and with the support of 1,300 personnel.Pontianak, W Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Ade Supandi on Friday inaugurated the change in status of the navy base in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, into main navy base.
Ade Supandi said with the change in status, called Main Naval Base XII, the military equipment of the navy in Pontianak would be strengthened by phases .
It will have more defense equipment, war ships, aircraft and marine force and with the support of 1,300 personnel, the admiral said.
He said the western part of the country , West Kalimantan in particular, will have stronger navy to protect the region from any threat to its security.
He cited tension in South China Sea , possible dispute in sea border and rampant illegal fishing and illegal immigrants entering via sea as problems the region is still facing.
The promotion of the navy base into a main navy base in Pontianak is necessitated by possible conflict in sea border with neighboring countries, he said.
"We also hope the presence of a main navy base in Pontianak would contribute positively to development in West Kalimantan," he said.
Earlier Deputy Governor of West Kalimantan Christiandy Sanjaya said the province deserves to have a major navy base considering the wide sea territory it has that borders directly on other countries.
"In addition West Kalimantan already has armys Tanjungpura military command and the Supadio air force base had been promoted from the B type to A type," Christiandy said.
West Kalimantan shares not only land and air borders with neighboring countries but also sea border,therefore, it should have a stronger navy base to protect the water territory, he said.
He said with the stronger navy base, the marine wealth of the province would be better protected.
Earlier the Indonesian military said it would plans to build a naval base in Sambas in West Kalimantan, close to the border with Malaysias Sarawak.
The base will strengthen the countrys defense in the frontier area, Navys deputy chief of staff Vice Admiral Widodo said when visiting that area recently.
The navy base in Sambas would be put under the command of a commodore and the main navy base in Pontianak would under a rear admiral.
The regency of Sambas is close to the border area, therefore, TNI would strengthen the capacity of the navy by promoting thye navy post in that district into a navy base.
Widodo said all navy bases in the border areas would be promoted to main naval bases to better guarantee protection of the countrys sovereignty.
Malaysian navy ships and aircraft have often violated the border seen as provocative moves by observers.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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