RI Navy Arranging Joint Submarine Exelcises With Three Countries

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Navy is in the process of arranging the holding of bilateral joint submarine exercises with three countries, namely the United States, Singapore and South Korea, the force's chief said. "We are making the necessary arrangements, and with the United States we expect to have an agreement in early 2012," Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Soeparno said here Monday. The exercises would be preceded by exchanges of submarine crews between Indonesia and those countries and the exchanged personnel would be familiarized with the submarines of the four navies, Soeparno said. The actual joint exercises would be carried out in the next phase of the cooperation. "The joint exercises will not only be between submarines but also between submarines and surface vessels in accordance with mutually agreed scenarios. So we will be conducting the exercises in various forms and styles in accordance with the pattern of the imaginary maritime threats that could be national, regional or international," Soeparno said. About the possibility of the presence of the foreign exercise vessels in Indonesian waters posing a threat to Indonesian sovereignty, the navy chief said all the risks involved had been duly taken account of. Soeparno said even now many submarines of certain foreign powers were known to have passed through Indonesian waters. This could not be avoided as Indonesia was an archipelagic country located at the juncture of two vast oceans. "But we have thoroughly weighed the risks and taken due account of all possibilities," he said. About the preparedness and capability of the Indonesian navy's submarines and their crews to take part in the planned joint exercises, Soeparno said "we are quite ready and capable."