PALU-(IDB) : Indonesian Navy
(TNI AL) chief of staff Adm. Marsetio opened on Friday the Palu Naval
Base in Palu, Central Sulawesi, as part of an effort to secure
Indonesian waters, especially in the eastern part of the country.
The naval base
is located on a 13-hectare plot in Palu’s Watusampu subdistrict, Ulujadi
district, of which only 2.8 hectares have been built on.
The building, which faces Palu Bay, has been built over the past two years and cost around Rp 7 billion (US$717,000).
“The naval base
location is ideal and strategic, and there is no such dock in Indonesia
like the one in Palu,” Marsetio told the media after the opening
ceremony.
He said the naval base was precisely located in Palu Bay and at an ideal depth. It is the third-deepest sea in the world.
It will also
serve as the Navy’s submarine base, where three submarines purchased
from South Korea, will be stationed. “The KRI Cakra 401 and KRI Nanggala
402 submarines have often docked here, as the sea is very deep and
suitable for submarines,” said Marsetio.
Palu Bay was
picked as one of TNI AL’s submarine bases because the bay is quite
strategic in Indonesia. It is 10 kilometers wide and its coastline
stretches for 68 kilometers while its depth reaches 400 meters. Natural
protection against extreme ocean currents is also considered to be
adequate and advantageous for a submarine base.
“At such a
depth, large vessels, such as aircraft carriers from the United States
could easily navigate through the bay,” said Marsetio.
The Palu Naval
Base will in the future not only serve as a forward base, but a main
naval base. Therefore, the navy will equip it with various facilities
given the base’s close proximity with the Malaysian border.
“The Ambalat waters remains vulnerable, so the submarine base in Palu is most strategic to secure the region,” he added.
Meanwhile,
Central Sulawesi Governor Longki Djanggola said that based on documents
belonging to the Palu city administration, in terms of defense strategy,
Palu Bay is centrally situated between the Indonesian border in the
north and the Java Sea in the south, so submarines stationed there could
cover the region effectively.
The area is
also part of the second Sea Lane of Communications (ALKI) II, where
large merchant ships could traverse under the UNCLOS international
maritime law.
“Malaysia, the
Philippines, Japan and China, which are very strategic for Indonesia
from the geopolitical and geoeconomic aspects, are located north of the
ALKI II. So, Palu Bay is very suitable as TNI AL’s submarine base,” said
Longki.
Indonesia’s
current submarines, the U-206 type KRI Cakra and KRI Nanggala, were made
by German shipyard Howaldtswerke in Kiel, Germany, and were
commissioned in 1981.
The three U-209
type submarines, worth some $1.07 billion, will be delivered in 2015
and 2016. Two of the submarines will be build at Daewoo Shipbuilding and
Marine Engineering (DSME) facilities in Busan, South Korea. The third
would be completed at the state-owned shipyard PT PAL Indonesia
facilities in Surabaya, East Java.
Initial reports
said the submarines would weigh 1,400 tons and be 61.3 meters long.
Each submarine will carry up to 40 crew members and have eight weapons
tubes for torpedoes and other weapons.
Source : KoranJakarta