REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Lack of maintenance may have caused Wednesdays (Feb. 6) explosion of the naval ammunition depot in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, according to a legislator.

"The explosion in the ammunition depot indicates that we were not maintaining it properly," a member of the House of Representatives Commission-I, Ajeng Ratna Suminar, said after a House plenary session here on Thursday.

She noted that the government should not underestimate the need for maintenance of military weaponry systems and defense logistic supplies, such as ammunition. The politician from the Democratic Party also said the government should allocate sufficient amount of funds to maintain military weaponry systems and its supporting logistics.

Meanwhile, the Naval Chief of Staff, Admiral Marsetio, stated that the Navy was investigating the cause of the explosion at its ammunition depot in Tanjung Priok.

"We are still investigating it. We have just received a report about it," he noted at the Merak port in Banten province on Wednesday.

Admiral Marsetio was at the Merak port to accompany President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for a roll call of the National Search and Rescue (SAR) Board held to mark its 42nd anniversary. He pointed out that the explosion would not disrupt the Navy's operations.

"This is only part of the ammunition at the depot," he explained. The ammunition kept at the depot was for light weapons, he added. "It was for light weapons. There were shooting range, pistol ammunition and rifles there. But their number is limited," he elaborated.

The ammunition depot of the Western Indonesian Fleet Commands frog force unit in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, exploded at around 10 am on Wednesday. Spokesman of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Senior Commander Rikwanto, stated that the Indonesian Navy was still investigating the cause of the explosion.

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