Indonesia Accepts South Korea Warship Donation, Despite Cost Concerns

PARLIAMENT - JAKARTA. Indonesia's parliament on Thursday approved a proposal to accept a South Korean donation of a corvette for its navy, despite concern from its defence committee that the ageing vessel needs about $85 million worth of maintenance. 

Defence Minister and incoming president Prabowo Subianto has been pushing to upgrade Indonesia's ageing military hardware and spend billions on new jets and submarines. Indonesia has long lagged its regional peers in terms of defence spending as a share of gross domestic product.