Indonesian agree to install seven radars from U.S. in Makassar Strait

JAKARTA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has agreed to install seven radars to be provided by the United States in the Makassar Strait to support security maintenance efforts in the country's second main sea-lane, a minister said on Tuesday.

"The purpose of installing the seven radars is to support maritime defense and security in the South East Asian region," Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono was quoted by Antara News Agency saying.

He said the U.S. government was committed to helping Indonesia to build its capacity to secure its waters by among other things providing the surveillance radars.

"The proposal to install the surveillance radars in the Makassar Strait was filed in 2006 but it will only be implemented in stages starting in 2008," he said.

Juwono said the main function of the seven radars in the Makassar Strait would be that of preventing acts of terror at sea, which accords with ASEAN's joint commitment on maritime defense and security in the ASEAN region.

The U.S. had previously also given five surveillance radars which were set up along the Malacca Strait to support security in the world's busiest sea lane.

The five radars were now functioning as part of the Integrated Maritime Surveillance System (IMSS) in the Malacca Strait where security was being maintained jointly by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore through a coordinated patrol scheme launched in July, 2004.

The three nations' coordinated patrols had resulted in a 70-percent decrease in criminal activity in the Malacca Strait, according to Juwono.