The US plans to supply 24 refurbished F-16C/D fighter aircraft to Indonesia, the presidents of the two countries announced in Bali on Friday on the fringes of an Asia-Pacific summit.
It was the second militarily significant announcement of US President Barack Obama’s ongoing nine-day Asia-Pacific trip.
The upgraded Lockheed Martin Corp F-16s will give Indonesia a “much-needed” capability to protect its sovereign airspace, the White House said in a “fact sheet” that emphasized the relatively low price tag, put at US$750 million by the Pentagon.
Photo: Reuters
Under a separate tightening of ties with Australia, US marines will start rotating through northern Australia next year, eventually growing to a 2,500-strong task force, the two governments said during a visit by Obama before he flew to Indonesia for the summit with ASEAN leaders.
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Jakarta was seeking more capable F-16s able to carry out operations “in the outermost border regions of Indonesia.”
The air force’s existing fleet of 10 F-16 A/Bs cannot do this, the agency said in a mandatory notice of the tentative deal to the US Congress. It put the estimated cost at US$750 million. The aircraft are from excess US inventory.
“The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a strategic partner that has been, and continues to be, an important force for economic progress in Southeast Asia,” the notice to lawmakers said.
The White House said the plan was to start deliveries by July 2014, as requested by Jakarta.
The deal would help boost Indonesiam air defenses significantly “without compromising the defense budget and other national priorities,” it said.
The F-16 deal involves the overhaul of 28 United Technologies Corp Pratt & Whitney engines including spares. The aircraft will have the most advanced “Modular Mission Computer” produced by Raytheon Co, along with improved radar, avionics and the capability to carry and field more advanced weaponry and sensors, the White House said.
The transfer of F-16C/D models to Indonesia may raise new questions about Obama’s refusal to meet Taiwan’s standing request for 66 new F-16C/Ds of its own to help deter China.
The Obama administration last month notified Congress of a proposed US$5.85 billion weapons package for Taiwan, including upgrades of 145 F-16A/B fighters, but none of the C/D models that Taiwan has sought.
Obama said on Thursday in Canberra the US military would expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific despite budget austerity, declaring the US was “here to stay” as a Pacific power that would help shape the region’s future.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense
CRITICISM: ‘One has to choose the lesser of two evils,’ Pope Francis said, as he criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and Harris’ pro-choice position Pope Francis on Friday accused both former US president Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris of being “against life” as he returned to Rome from a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. The 87-year-old pontiff’s comments on the US presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. It was Francis’ longest trip in duration and distance since becoming head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 11 years ago. Despite the marathon visit, he held a long and spirited
China would train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction,” its minister for public security has said. “We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) told an annual global security forum. Wang made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organizations such as Interpol. The forum is part of ongoing