Indonesia organised a major military display at the East Javan Surabaya naval base in celebration of the military’s 69 th anniversary (October 5, 1945-2014) on October 7.

Spectators included the outgoing President, the President-elect, the outgoing and newly elected vice presidents, the Minister of Defence, the Commander of the armed forces, and many other high-level officers.

The parade featured the latest vehicles and equipment along with more than 19,000 personnel of the Air Force, Navy and Army.

Speaking at the ceremony, outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono highlighted the achievements of the modernisation of the country’s armed forces.

Meanwhile, President-elect Joko Widodo revealed his plans to continue the modernisation process for the military.

He also reaffirmed his cabinet would double or triple the national defence budget within the next five years, improving the livelihoods of military officers and their families, if Indonesia’s economic growth reached its annual target of 7 percent.

Previously, in Jakarta, the Minister of Defence Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the national budget for weapons for the 2010-2014 period was nearly 163 trillion Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) (13 billion USD), with more than 122 trillion IDR (9.9 billion USD) being spent already, accounting for 75.5 percent of the total budget.-VNA