Jakarta, Oct. 6 -- Indonesia's House Budget Committee (Banggar DPR) has reaffirmed its support for increasing the military budget to meet the country's Minimum Essential Force (MEF) target, a baseline for defense readiness.

Committee Chairman Said Abdullah said Monday the country's current defense allocation remains low compared to advanced nations with modern military capabilities.

"Going forward, we will strengthen defense spending in line with efforts to maintain fiscal health," he said in a statement.

The MEF is a minimum level of defense strength required for Indonesia to effectively perform its military duties and respond to threats.

Indonesia's Defense Ministry and armed forces (TNI) have been allocated Rp139.2 trillion ($8.8 b...