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A National Mandate Party lawmaker said on Monday that a House of Representatives commission overseeing defense would stop a Defense Ministry plan to buy air drones from Israel.

“This will only benefit the Israelis and we cannot accept that because it contradicts our national interests,” said Djoko Susilo, from the party, also known as PAN. He added that House Commission I had already warned the ministry in 2006 not to proceed with its plan.
The ministry, however, proceeded with the plan in 2006. Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono assured the commission members that the procurement would be carried out according to the correct government procedures.

However, the ministry still needed the House’s approval for the loan agreement to purchase the unmanned aircraft.

Antara reported that the ministry was finalizing its plan to propose a $16 million loan from an Israeli bank’s London branch.

“Our position is to refuse the proposal,” Djoko said, claiming that it was the commission’s official position.

However, another commission member, Yorris Raweyai from the Golkar Party, denied that the commission’s objection was its formal position.

“We did have a meeting with the Defense Ministry and the Finance Ministry but we did not talk about it at all,” Yorris said, adding that the meeting’s agenda was instead focused on the budget mechanism.

Djoko said that the commission might approve the purchase of the drones if it was from another country and not from Israel.

Indonesia, a staunch backer of the Palestinian cause, has no diplomatic ties with Israel.

The two countries, however, conduct trade mainly through intermediaries.

The Bandung Institute of Technology was also capable of building drones, although maybe not as sophisticated as the ones made by Israel, Djoko added.