Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir (Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia, the world’s largest population of Muslims, has denied joining the Saudi Arabian-led Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism.
At a press conference held in Jakarta on December 16, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said Indonesia was not among the 34 countries that had supported or signed-up to the military coalition as its government had not yet seen the details of the coalition's scope of cooperation and terms of reference.
The Indonesian government supports Saudi Arabia’s efforts to combat terrorism and extremism, he said, adding that Indonesia is sticking to its principle of only joining international military missions or committing military troops under the flag of the United Nations.
Previously, Indonesian Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Bisar Pandjaitan said that Indonesia will not join the military coalition as the country still wants to use a soft-approach model in the fight against terrorism.
On the same day, the Pakistani government announced that the country is awaiting details before deciding on the extent of its participation in the coalition.
According to a statement issued by the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country welcomed the formation of the alliance by Saudi Arabia but did not confirm its engagement.
On December 15, Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a 23-nation anti-terrorism Islamic military coalition consisting of countries from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.-VNA
