The administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was elected for a second term this week, has come under pressure over the poor safety record of the military.

Indonesia’s military has a lot of equipment that is more than 30 years old and often poorly maintained, while authorities have been trying to get the military out of a network of businesses it once controlled to top up its budget.

“Systematically, year after year we will increase the defence budget until we achieve a minimum necessary force,” Yudhoyono was quoted on his website (www.presidensby.info) as saying.

Yudhoyono said the 2010 defence budget would be raised by 7 trillion rupiah from 33.6 trillion rupiah this year.

“This should be in line with a strategic plan prepared by TNI (the military) so it can build a reliable and superior defence posture in the future,” he also told a military ceremony in the city of Bandung in West Java.

The plan to increase the defence budget in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy would have to be approved by parliament.

Last month two crashes involving military helicopters killed seven people, including a high ranking special forces officer.

In May, more than 100 people were killed after a Indonesian military C-130 Hercules transport plane crashed and burst into flames in East Java.

Indonesia agreed a deal with Russia in 2007 to get tanks, Sukhoi jet fighters and Mi-17 helicopters. It is also looking to buy two submarines and in talks with Washington on replacing some of its ageing C-130 transport planes.