Indonesia has failed to pay its annual share of expenses for a joint project with South Korea to develop high-tech fighter jets, an opposition lawmaker claimed Wednesday.
The claim prompted concerns the project, dubbed KF-X, could be suspended.
Rep. Kim Jong-dae of the Justice Party, a member of the National Assembly Defense Committee, said Indonesia's state-run defense firm PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), a participant in the project, has yet to pay this year's remaining allotted 138.9 billion won ($124.5 million) to Seoul as of the end of October, based on a document from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
"If Indonesia does not pay in time, the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has to shoulder the burden of 40 percent of the development costs," Kim said. "Coupled with the current issue of the company being financially strapped, the KF-X project could easily be put in danger."
KAI is the nation's sole aircraft manufacturer that signed the KF-X contract with DAPA.
Seoul launched the KF-X project in 2015 to build its own 4.5-generation fighters to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s by 2026.
PTDI signed an agreement with KAI in January 2016 to foot 20 percent of the cost in the development of the program, while KAI pays 20 percent and the South Korean government pays the remaining 60 percent of the 7.5 trillion won for the program.
Due to the form of agreement, the KAI faces a burden when payments from PTDI are delayed, Kim said.
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