Jakarta Post July 05, 2000

Ministry plans defense against invitation force

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Defense is designing a new defense plan to anticipate the possibility of an invitation force coming to the country in the interest of another humanitarian mission.

Speaking in a media briefing on Tuesday, the ministry's secretary-general, Lt. Gen. Sugiono, said national defense will in the future come under dangerous threat not from invasion from foreign countries but from foreign invitation forces, as happened in East Timor last year.

"It is a fact that physical invasion from outside the country is not the situation that we have to worry about. Whether we like it or not, foreign countries will enter the country if they are invited," Sugiono said.

He contended that it has become a common trend in the world that international troops are allowed to go into a country for reasons of genocide, human rights violations and environmental issues.

Last year, during the East Timor mayhem such action happened in Indonesia and Sugiono said certain parties recently have asked for international help due to the continuing clashes in the country.

For that reason the ministry is developing a new defense design to minimize the possibility of certain parties requesting assistance from foreign troops, Sugiono added.

The new defense design is expected to involve participation by both community and local authorities because of the implementation of regional autonomy starting from Jan. 1, 2001.

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said the defense design will focus on the sea and improve the ability of the Indonesian Navy in accordance with the possible threats to the country, without having to sacrifice the interests of the Army and the Air Force. (dja)

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