The Dutch refuse to sell tanks to Indonesia: losing €200 million to give a good example

Damen Shipyards and the Indonesian navy sign the contract for a new submarine, on June 5th

Has anyone scolded Tjeerd de Zwaan yet? Earlier this month, the Dutch ambassador to Indonesia was one of the guests of honor at a ceremony celebrating the sale of a military submarine to the Indonesian navy. Dutch company Damen will build the submarine (not their first for Indonesia) partially in the Netherlands and partially in Indonesia. Nice touch: the submarine is officially called a ‘destroyer’.

This sale (and the presence of the ambassador) is ironic, since Dutch parliament decided last week to halt the sale of 80 superfluous Leopard army tanks to Indonesia (worth 200 million euros), effectively deciding on a weapons embargo.