"With it, Indonesia has started to have the capability to safeguard its seas with self-made ships. We no longer need handouts," Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said during the launch ceremony at the Batu Ampar cargo port in Batam, Riau Islands province.

He called the launch "a milestone" in the country`s journey to defense industry self-reliance.

"This shows that the sons and daughters of Indonesia have been able to produce its own weaponry. The KCR (Clurit) is the first of its kind produced in this country. The central government is serious about developing the domestic defense industry and making it a priority," said Purnomo.

The Clurit-40 is needed to safeguard Indonesia's territorial waters, which are rich in natural resources, and protect the many international trade lanes crisscrossing the country's seas, he said.

Most of the vessels in the Indonesian navy are ships sold on by the navies of the Netherlands and Britain, especially smaller ships including patrol boats and fast attack craft. But the Indonesian government has had a policy since 2003 of procuring Indonesian-made ships, such as the Clurit, to bolster the country's defense manufacturing industry.

The Clurit -- 145 feet long and 25 feet wide -- has a maximum speed 30 knots. It carries and C-705 anti-ship missiles, manufactured by the Chinese Aerospace Group and capable of carrying a conventional warhead of nearly 245 pounds.

Range of the solid-fuel C-705 is around 45 miles but with a second stage it can reach targets 105 miles away. Lowest cruise altitude for the subsonic weapon is nearly 40 feet.

The Clurit has a crew of 35 and carries six 30mm caliber cannons and two 20mm cannons on the stern.

PT Palindo Marine Batam, which built the Clurit, also worked with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering's Daesun Shipyard in South Korea on the design and construction of four Makassar class landing platform docks.

The first two, KRI Makassar and KRI Surabaya, were built in Busan, South Korea, in 2006 and 2007. The last two -- KRI Banjarmasin and KRI Banda Aceh -- were made by PT Palindo in Indonesia, of which the Banda Aceh was commissioned last month.

At the Banda Aceh's commissioning, the government announced that PT Palindo, in cooperation with Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding of the Netherlands, will begin designing light corvettes for anti-submarine warfare. The ships are expected eventually to be constructed in Indonesia after the first one is made at a constructor's home shipyard, be it in Europe or Asia.

The corvettes will be the largest vessels produced by an Indonesian shipbuilder.

The government also said last month that it intends to build a submarine beginning in 2014. The sub will be built after the Indonesian government selects the specifications, the type of submarine it desires and which countries will be chosen to transfer the technology to Indonesia.

Companies in France, Russia, Germany and South Korea are contenders.

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