Indonesia says vessel can be used to assist catastrophe aid throughout the archipelago, however its arrival comes amid drive to improve the army.
Printed On 18 Sep 2026
Indonesia has welcomed the supply of its first-ever plane provider with a army ceremony because the vessel arrived at a naval base.
The 41-year-old former Italian navy vessel Giuseppe Garibaldi docked in North Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok seaport on Friday, after crusing from Italy by way of Colombo and the Malacca strait, Indonesian Navy Chief of Workers Muhammad Ali instructed reporters.
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Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto says the ship can be used to handle disasters throughout the archipelago. Nonetheless, it arrives amid a drive to improve the army.
The 180-metre (590-foot) vessel can carry as much as 18 helicopters and accommodate as much as 830 personnel, a navy spokesperson stated in an announcement.
The provider can be renamed KRI Sriwijaya, honouring the Srivijaya empire, a maritime kingdom primarily based in Sumatra that grew to become one in all Southeast Asia’s dominant naval and buying and selling powers between the seventh and thirteenth centuries.
“There are numerous disasters on this nation. So we actually want a vessel or platform that might carry many helicopters, as a result of the helicopters can drop logistics shortly to distant areas,” Ali stated.
Nonetheless, he additionally famous that the ship may “be deployed for fight missions if mandatory”.
Bolstering defence
The arrival of the vessel, which was commissioned by the Italian navy in 1985, comes as Prabowo has been pushing to improve Indonesia’s army property and construct nearer defence cooperation with different international locations.
Italy agreed to offer Indonesia the provider in March, after it was retired in 2014. The transfer was meant to bolster the 2 international locations’ defence engagement.
Italy is looking for offers on submarines and plane, and gifting the provider to Indonesia additionally saves it the price of decommissioning the ship.
“Its situation remains to be superb and hopefully it may be utilized by the Indonesian navy for the subsequent 15 to twenty years,” navy chief Ali stated.
Indonesia’s Finance Ministry authorized $450m in financing for the plane provider programme in 2025. Opposition politicians fear the general invoice could possibly be far larger.
Nonetheless, Prabowo – previously a basic below the Suharto regime – has made constructing Indonesia’s defence property and agreements a precedence.
Jakarta signed an $8.1bn deal in 2022, when Prabowo was defence minister, to buy 42 French-made Rafale fighter jets. India confirmed this 12 months that it’ll provide the nation with long-range missiles.
Indonesia has additionally agreed this 12 months to a “Main Defence Cooperation Partnership” with the Trump administration in the USA, and a safety treaty with Australia.
