Indonesia Bid to Buy Tanks Under Rare Scrutiny

Indonesia’s ambition to modernize its ageing military hardware at a time when its economy is powering ahead has hit a temporary roadblock from an unlikely quarter: its MPs.

The parliamentary commission overseeing defense and foreign affairs, which has tended to be supportive of such ventures, was this week sharply critical of the army’s proposals to buy 100 secondhand Leopard tanks from the Netherlands.

At a hearing on Tuesday, its members grilled Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and military chiefs on whether the Dutch were serious about the sale, if enough was being done for the country’s sea and air defenses, and whether the large German-made tanks — which many Asian countries already have — were really the best buy for the sprawling archipelago’s defense needs.

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