REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MAGELANG -- The Indonesian government has increased construction of domestic vessels, in a bid to support the maritime sector.

"To make Indonesia a world maritime axis, the government has expanded shipbuilding in the country. The production of vessels should be increased in Indonesia," Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir said here on Tuesday.

Earlier, state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia launched two warships on Monday (Jan 18).

The two ships, dedicated at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, East Java, were Missile Destroyer (PKR)-1 and Strategic Sealift Vessel (SSV)-1.

The PKR-1 was ordered by Indonesia's Defense Ministry, while the SSV-1 was ordered by the Philippines' Defense Ministry.

The SSV-1 was completely built by PT PAL, in accordance with Lloyd's Registry classification.

The minister said that the building of vessels is not only done in Surabaya, but also in Batam and Kalimantan.

He remarked that domestically built ships could compete with similar ships built overseas.

"So far, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam have ordered Indonesian warships," he said.

Earlier, PT PAL president director M. Firmansyah said that the firm cooperated with Netherlands-based Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding through a transfer-of-technology agreement.

PT PAL will finish PKR-1 and SSV-1 before officially handing them over to the Defense Ministry in January 2017, and the Philippines' Defense Ministry in May 2016, respectively.

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