[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] The KF-X Option Proposed by Indonesia Is

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has recently been reported that Indonesia proposed conditions for participating in the Korean Fighter eXperimental (KF-X) project, including reducing its stake and support for agricultural land development.

On the 10th, a government official stated, “The participation of Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s Minister of Defense, in the KF-X prototype delivery ceremony can be seen as an expression of intent to participate in the project.”

Indonesia, a joint development partner in the KF-X project, has consistently shown a passive attitude, including failing to pay its share of the costs. If Indonesia, which is currently overdue on payments, withdraws from the joint development, it is expected to cause setbacks in the government’s export strategy.

Until now, Minister Prabowo had repeatedly declined the South Korean government’s requests to visit Korea. In December 2019, then Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo met with Prabowo in Jakarta and invited him, and Ambassador Park Tae-sung to Indonesia also repeatedly conveyed the government’s invitation for a visit.

Later, in mid-last month, Kang Eun-ho, Administrator of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), visited Jakarta to attend the delivery ceremony of a submarine jointly built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Indonesia’s state-owned PAL Shipyard, and met with Minister Prabowo to request his attendance at the KF-X prototype No. 1 delivery ceremony.

At that time, Minister Prabowo mentioned the KF-X project during two meetings with Administrator Kang and reportedly made several proposals. It is known that he expressed a desire to participate in the project but requested assistance due to the worsening domestic economy.

Indonesia is said to have first requested to reduce its KF-X contribution ratio from 20% to 10%. Indonesia had agreed to contribute KRW 1.7338 trillion in phases during the development stage, but as of February, it had only paid KRW 227.2 billion out of the KRW 831.6 billion due, leaving about KRW 600 billion overdue. Although DAPA officially denies this, military insiders evaluate it as “the most likely proposal.”

There are also reports that Indonesia requested support for food development. Indonesian President Joko Widodo appointed Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, not the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, as the special minister in charge of food development. Due to heavy rains, Indonesia’s grain production has declined, causing grain prices to reach their highest level in eight years and six months.

Accordingly, Indonesia assigned Minister Prabowo the task of food development and agricultural land development in Central Kalimantan on Borneo Island. Indonesia, with a population of 270 million, plans to develop 165,000 hectares of farmland in Pulang Pisau, Central Kalimantan?2.7 times the area of Seoul (60,000 hectares). In September last year, Indonesia also launched a large-scale cultivation project to protect “food security,” developing farmland ten times the size of Singapore.

At that time, President Joko Widodo ordered the large-scale farmland development project in response to the potential global food crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, Indonesia reportedly proposed to the South Korean government either to provide a loan of as much as 5 billion dollars (approximately KRW 5.6 trillion) or to postpone the payment schedule of its contribution from 2028 to 2031.