Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Chief of the Air Force 1st Command Rear Marshall Gandjar Wiranegara said the area in Indonesia for the military training of Singapore has yet to be reopened pending the ratification of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) signed by the two countries on April 27, 2007.
"We will wait for a legal umbrella of the two countries, for which a dialgoue would be held," he said here on Monday.
Indonesia and Singapore established a cooperation to strengthen their relations, among others by signing a Military Training Area (MTA) in 2000.
Under the agreement, an area had been designed for a joint military training of the Armed Forces of the two countries, namely MTA I in the Tanjung Pinang waters ad MTA II in the South China Sea.
However, the agreement discontinued by Indonesia in 2003 as Singapore was believed "to have misused" the facility by involving a third party.
"Now, the agreement has been renewed and we are still waiting for follow up steps, and therefore the existing military training site, including the one in Pekanbaru (Riau) would not be reopened," he added.
On the occasion, Deputy Air Force Chief of Staff Vice Marshall Wresniwiro said that signing of the DCA is expected to improve both the facility and infrastructure of the training area by the application of Singapore`s technology.
"I hope the air combat facility which had been being closed for sometime, could be reopened," he added.
Wresniwiro said the Indonesian Military needed a simulator for its Air Combat Manuver Range, which could not be operated since the military cooperation between the two countries was disrupted in 2003.(*)
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