Jakarta. Indonesia plans to build an international military training facility on Morotai Island in North Maluku that could be used jointly with partner countries, Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said on Thursday.

Morotai has a long history as a strategic military base dating back to World War II. Its location along key Pacific routes makes the island well-suited for the development of a modern military training complex.

Speaking after meeting Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles in Jakarta, Sjafrie said the proposal to develop the facility originated from the Indonesian government.

“I explained our plan to build international training facilities in Morotai that could support air, naval, and ground exercises,” Sjafrie told reporters.

“The initiative comes from us. Indonesia is a large country with sufficient infrastructure and is surrounded by neighboring states. We do not want to close ourselves off,” he added.

Sjafrie said the training center is intended to be a permanent international facility open to multiple partner countries.

“It will not be limited to Australia. Countries such as the Philippines, Japan, and others could also participate. That is why it is called an international training facility,” he said.

The concept of establishing a joint training site has been discussed for several years. When Prabowo Subianto served as defense minister, he proposed a similar arrangement to Singapore.

Singapore declined the proposal at the time because Morotai was considered too far away, Sjafrie said.

As an alternative, the Indonesian government has also prepared another potential location closer to Singapore in North Kalimantan, he added.

Add as a preferred source on Google +