Chinese, Indonesian Defence Universities Step Up Cooperation

BEIJING -- The defence universities of Indonesia and China will step up cooperation by launching exchange programmes for lecturers and sending Indonesian students to China, said assistant rector Maj Gen I Wayan Medio from Indonesia's Defense University.

"We will send students to pursue further education at the Chinese University of Defense on defense economy, management and disaster handling," Wayan said on the sidelines of Indonesia's 68th independence anniversary celebration earlier this week.

Wayan said that Indonesia had so far only exchanged cadets and sent students to China to undertake certain study programmes, Indonesian news agency ANTARA reported.

And as China is now the world's second biggest economic power, "We want to experience it first hand by sending a number of students to study defence economy beginning next year," said the assistant rector.

"China has also displayed preparedness in handling natural disasters. We will also send students to study disaster management in China and in Japan, which also has natural disasters similar to those taking place in Indonesia," Wayan said.

Indonesia's Defence University will also sign an agreement with Tshinghua University for Indonesian students to study public policy, defense economy and disaster management.

It also plans to sign an agreement with the Naval Postgraduate School and Norwich University in the United States.

At present, 14 students from the Indonesian Defence University are studying defence economy and natural disaster management programmes in China.

  ● Bernama