Indonesia to buy Russian submarines

Indonesia intends to purchase 12 submarines from Russia before 2024, a senior Indonesian naval officer said Monday.

First Admiral Abdul Malik Yusuf, the chief spokesman for the Indonesian Navy, said combat submarines were strategic armaments allowing the country to maintain security in its territorial waters.

Indonesia's leading magazine, Tempo, quoted the admiral on its Web site as saying that the waters of the earth's largest archipelago were currently defenseless against the penetration of foreign ships.

In light of this, the Indonesian navy turned to the country's leadership with a proposal to purchase six Kilo-class submarines worth $1.9 billion from Russia in the next five years. The proposal had not yet been accepted due to insufficient budget funds, the magazine said.

In the recent past, the Indonesian submarine fleet was entirely composed of Soviet-made combat submarines, the magazine said.

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