The missing submarine debris from Indonesia was found off the coast of Bali

Indonesia has declared a missing submarine with 53 crew members “sunk”, according to the ship, after finding debris on the Bali coast.

“With the evidence that we thought were submarines, we have now gone from ‘sub-fault’ phase to ‘sub-sinking,'” said Admiral Yudo Margono, chief of staff of the Indonesian navy, as he searched the wreckage for the KRI Nanggala-402, which disappeared in deep water around Bali. which was in a torpedo launch exercise on Wednesday.

Now among the dead crew was Harry Setiawan, commander of the Indonesian submarine fleet.

The loss of commander, ship and crew is a severe delay for the country’s military at a time when territorial conflicts and arms race are heating up in the region.

Authorities estimated that the oxygen supply to the diesel-powered vessel built four decades ago would end by Saturday morning.

He continues to conduct searches along with Indonesia specialized aircraft and rescue vessels Expanded in the US, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and India.

“The depth of the sea that we have detected is 850 meters, it is very difficult and has many difficulties,” Margono said on Saturday. Experts say it is three times the maximum depth a submarine can safely navigate.

The Indonesian navy operates five submarines. Two, including the now sunken one, were built in Germany and the rest in South Korea.

Jakarta is buying seven other submarines that will be made in Russia and internationally, as Southeast Asian countries want to oppose China’s rapid military modernization. Beijing was the second largest military spending in the world after the U.S. in 2019, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

According to SIPRI, Indonesia’s military spending grew by 69 percent between 2010 and 2019, the fourth largest jump in Asia Pacific.

“China’s rise as a military power in the region and its claims to the South China Sea have become an increasingly worrying security for many Southeast Asian states.” paper Siemon T. Wezeman, Principal Investigator at SIPRI.

Southeast Asian military spending fell by at least 33 percent between 2009 and 2018, “much more than global growth [in] military spending, ”Wezeman said.

Caring for its vast maritime borders and numerous islands is a challenge for Indonesia, as it has been involved in the conflict over fishing rights with China in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

Wezeman said Wezeman, who is Indonesia’s second-largest warship in 2012, said the need to replace obsolete aircraft – which would have been long ago replaced or at least greatly modernized – prompted him to acquire weapons in Southeast Asia. by hand and between 25 and 40 years of age.

The KRI Nanggala-402 was built 41 years ago and revised in 2012 in South Korea.

The Indonesian navy said on Wednesday that there could be a blackout in “static diving” to cause the submarine to lose control.