Indonesia shows interest to acquire Chinese YJ-12E coastal defense missile system

 

The YJ-12B, variant used by the PLAN. Photo c/o China Military.

Indonesia was reported to have shown interest in acquiring the Chinese-made YJ-12E coastal anti-ship missile system to fulfill its requirement for a coastal defense missile capability for the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL).

The YJ-12E is the export variant of the YJ-12B used by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which in turn is the land-based variant of the YJ-12 series of supersonic anti-ship missiles.

It is capable of carrying a warhead between 250 kilograms capable of disabling a 5,000-ton ship, and has a maximum range of around 290 kilometers guided by BeiDou and updated by data-link with an active radar seeker for terminal guidance, and a maximum speed of Mach 3 during terminal flight phase.

The missiles are carried by the Wanshan WS-2600 5x5 heavy truck, with up to 3 missiles carried by the missile firing unit.

There are reports that the YJ-12E was certified by the Indonesian Navy’s Research and Development Service for possible acquisition and even local production.

Previously Indonesia announced plans to procure the Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship missile, which will include Transfer of Technology to allow for local production by Indonesian companies. 

But no forward movement were noted since the announcement, believed to be due to Ukraine now being at war with Russia since February 2022 making it difficult to export the missile.

The Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MOD) previously made public its plans to procure coastal missile defense systems and deploy them in different parts of the country to defend against external naval threats.

Some Indonesian analysts see the interest on the Chinese-made YJ-12E as a surprise since it is regarded that the threat from China is seen as the reason why Indonesia is building its naval defense capabilities. China has overlapping claims over parts of the Natuna Island’s Exclusive Economic Zone as part their so-called 9-Dash / 10-Dash Line claims, with Chinese naval and coast guard ships occasionally seen in the area and regarded as a threat to Indonesian sovereignty.

[1] Indomiliter

[2] Yoursay Indonesia