Strengthening Cooperation in the Maritime Sector, Japan Will Give a Grant of One Ship to Bakamla RI

Strengthening Cooperation in the Maritime Sector, Japan Will Give a Grant of One Ship to Bakamla RI

Japan considers that Indonesian seas have great potential but do not have adequate patrol facilities.

Head of Bakamla Rear Admiral (Laksda) Hadi Pranoto in Batam said there was no foreign interference regarding the arrest of Iranian and Panamanian tankers (Ajang Nurdin) Enlarge

Head of Bakamla Rear Admiral (Laksda) Hadi Pranoto in Batam said there was no foreign interference regarding the arrest of Iranian and Panamanian tankers (Ajang Nurdin)

Jakarta – The Japanese government has stated that it is ready to strengthen cooperation in the maritime sector with Indonesia, marked by the grant of one patrol boat to the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla).

“Not only the grant of the ship but also the transfer of technology. The ship will be donated in the next two to three years,” said Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Masaki Yasushi in a press statement at the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta, Monday (25/3/2024).

He emphasized that the ship to be donated was a new production ship and not a used one.

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The gift of this ship is a concrete form of the focus of bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Japan, especially in the maritime sector.

“Maritime cooperation is also important, and we want to build it more widely. It is hoped that this ship grant can strengthen Bakamla’s maritime law enforcement capabilities and answer the challenges of the Asian region,” said Masaki.

This ship grant was previously signed when President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) visited Tokyo in December 2023. The signing of this grant was carried out by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

Quoting the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, the patrol ship is worth 9,053 billion Yen or the equivalent of Rp. 946 billion.

“This project provides a large patrol ship for Bakamla which will be built by a Japanese shipyard,” read the official statement.

“This is expected to strengthen Bakamla’s maritime law enforcement capabilities, thereby contributing to increasing Bakamla’s ability to respond to challenges in the Asian region and the international community by improving maritime safety in Indonesia,” the statement continued.

Reasons why Japan gave ship grants

President Jokowi and PM Fumio Kishida at the Summit Celebrating 50 Years of ASEAN-Japan Friendly Relations and Cooperation at The Okura Hotel, Sunday 17 December 2023. (BPMI Presidential Secretariat​)Enlarge

President Jokowi and PM Fumio Kishida at the Summit Celebrating 50 Years of ASEAN-Japan Friendly Relations and Cooperation at The Okura Hotel, Sunday 17 December 2023. (BPMI Presidential Secretariat​)

According to the statement, the Japanese government considers that Indonesia, which has a large Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), is located on important sea transportation routes such as the Malacca-Singapore Strait and has an important position in Japan’s international logistics, has the potential to experience a number of illegal actions at sea.

“Illegal fishing, smuggling and natural disasters often occur in Indonesian waters, but institutions related to Indonesian maritime affairs do not have sufficient capacity to cover such a large sea area with the ships and patrol facilities they have,” the statement continued. That.

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Hope Bilateral Cooperation Gets Stronger

Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Masaki Yasushi in a press statement at his office, Monday (25/3/2024). Zoom in

Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Masaki Yasushi in a press statement at his office, Monday (25/3/2024).

Furthermore, Ambassador Masaki also hopes that bilateral relations between the two countries under Prabowo’s government will become stronger.

“In my opinion, he (Prabowo) has a strong desire to develop bilateral relations with Japan because Japan and Indonesia have had relations for quite a long time,” said Masaki.

“I think if Pak Prabowo becomes president, cooperation between us will be even stronger,” he added.

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