Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said recently Indonesia would diversify where it purchased military equipment from to avoid dependency on any one country.

Indonesia received six Mi-17 helicopters from Russia following a 2007 agreement between the countries that saw then Russian president Vladimir Putin provide a $1 billion loan for Indonesia to purchase 22 helicopters, 20 tanks and two submarines.

However, the national defense sector took a blow when Yudhoyono proposed a reduction in the defense budget to Rp 35 trillion (US$3.3 billion) in 2009, down from Rp 36 trillion in 2008. Many had expected the President to increase funding.

Juwono previously said if the nation wanted to develop its military satisfactorily, the budget would have to be at least US$10 billion.
(Source: www.jakartapost.com (02/03/2009))