Indonesia to build defense force more than minimum level: president

Xinhua, August 14, 2015

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Friday said that the country will step up its defense force to more than minimum essential level.

"We will build a strong state's defense. We will have state's strength which is at the level of beyond the minimum essential force," President Widodo told lawmakers at his annual speech prior to celebration of Independence Day on Aug. 17.

The president said that the government put a priority to purchase the weaponry from domestic industry.

President Widodo disclosed that the Southeast Asia's largest economy has witnessed a steep rise on its gross domestic product, indicating a potential to set aside more budget for defense.

The country's gross domestic product has climbed from around 1, 000 trillion rupiah(some 726,59 billion U.S. dollars) to 10,000 trillion rupiah (about 7,265.86 billion U.S. dollars) for the last 15 years, he said.

Widodo's predecessor, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, had put minimum essential force as the upper limit for building the defense force.

Terrorism, insurgency and trans-national crimes, are among the challenges facing Indonesian military and police.