Chairman of the Commission I on defense, foreign affairs of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) Theo Sambuaga said Sunday Indonesia and Singapore would discuss in detail the defense cooperation agreement signed in Bali on Friday.

"The document of the defense cooperation agreement signed by the two countries only carries cooperation principles. Later on May 8 in Batam discussions on arrangement of implementation will be done by the armed forces of the two countries," the Antara news agency quoted Theo as saying on the sidelines of the 116th Inter- Parliamentary Union meeting in the country's resort island of Bali.

The two sides will discuss how to conduct military exercises and places to be used for the exercises.

"Certainly not only they that have access to Indonesia but we also have to have access to Singapore. So the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) would also have access to their naval base or monitor development of their military technology," he said.

He made the comment in response to certain quarters that had criticized the agreement, saying it benefited Singapore much.

Regarding areas for exercises, Theo said not all the country's regions would be recommended for them. "May be only areas around Pekanbaru (in Indonesia's Riau province) and South Natuna (in Riau Islands province) will be set for the exercises and the exercises will also be monitored closely to assure that no rules are broken," he said.

Source: Xinhua