Indonesia and China plan to cooperate in manufacturing defense equipment and are looking at other measures to expand military ties, ANTARA quoted the defense ministers of the two countries as saying. "We expect to cooperate in building defense equipment, especially in transportation. For example, transport planes and ships," Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said after talks with visiting Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan. "The financing will be discussed further by two governments and related ministries," he added. Cao said the aim of his visit was to strengthen cooperation. "We also discussed future ways to promote further and enhance the military and defense relations between our two sides," Cao was quoted by Reuters as saying. "Besides, we can also promote cooperation in the field of training of military personnel." The two ministers agreed to set up a committee to look into expanding cooperation. China said last year it would boost defense spending by 17.8 percent to about $45 billion.
