Russia Remains Ready to Supply Sukhoi Fighter Jets to Indonesia

KOMPAS.com – Russia is ready to supply its Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighters to Indonesia despite pressure from certain states, a Russian official said on Wednesday, July 21.

“From the beginning, the project on supplying 11 multirole Su-35 fighters to Jakarta has attracted the world community’s attention,” said a spokesperson for the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Valeria Reshetnikova as quoted by Kontan.co.id via Russian news agency TASS.

“It’s no surprise that after signing it [the agreement], the Indonesian side has come up against extensive pressure from representatives of certain states,” said Reshetnikova during the MAKS-2021 air show on the outskirts of Moscow.

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“At all possible levels, Jakarta was strongly recommended to abandon the project. However, we confidently assert that the Russian side is intent on fulfilling this contract," she added.
She went on to say that Moscow views Indonesia as one of its key partners in the Asia-Pacific region.

The signing of the contract on Su-35 sale between both countries was held in early 2018, but no further implementation has started ever since.

Pressure on Indonesia

Bloomberg reported last year that the US strongly recommended Indonesia to drop deals on purchasing Russian-made fighter jets and Chinese naval vessels as part of a global effort to prevent its top adversaries from eroding the US’s military superiority.

Also read: Indonesia to Renegotiate Joint Fighter Aircraft Project with South Korea

An Indonesian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Southeast Asia country decided against moving ahead with a plan to procure 11 Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets worth about $1.1 billion. Before that, the US also pressured Indonesia into walking away from talks with China to procure several naval patrol vessels for about $200 million, the official added.

President Joko Widodo's administration was also concerned that actions against trade relations may be taken by the US if Indonesia continues to discuss the plan with China, according to Kompas.com.

(Editor : Bambang P. Jatmiko)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2021/07/22/073000526/meski-indonesia-dapat-tekanan-rusia-siap-pasok-11-jet-tempur-su-35.