JAKARTA — The United States will sell eight advanced Apache attack helicopters to Indonesia in a deal worth US$500 million (S$640 million), Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel announced yesterday, as part of an effort to strengthen defence ties and build up the South-east Asian country’s military.

The deal includes the advanced Longbow Fire Control Radar, a high-performance tracking and targeting system for the Apache that was developed out of a joint venture between Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. The Apaches are made by Boeing.

The sale was announced during a visit by Mr Hagel to Jakarta, his second stop on a four-nation South-east Asian trip that began in Malaysia on Saturday. The trip is meant to underscore the so-called US pivot, or re-orientation of its foreign policy towards Asia, as Washington winds down the war in Afghanistan and turns its attention further east.

In the past, ties between the US and the Indonesian military were strained by accusations of human rights abuses by the latter. But the George W Bush administration lifted restrictions on military hardware sales and, in 2010, Washington dropped the last of its restrictions on training the Indonesian military.

Mr Hagel yesterday praised Indonesia’s efforts to “improve transparency and the protection of human rights. “We must work to make even more progress on this critical issue, which will lead to even more momentum in our defence relationship,” he said, according to prepared remarks.

As part of his visit, Mr Hagel met a group of Indonesian soldiers who have received training from the American military.

US defence officials said the agreement to sell the Apaches would provide Indonesia with a significant advancement in military capabilities. One said they would help the country to conduct counter-piracy missions and other military operations.

Under a separate deal with Germany, Indonesia is also due to receive more than 100 used Leopard 2 battle tanks as well as 60 military vehicles after the German Security Council in May approved the deal, which involves Dusseldorf-based defence firm Rheinmetall.

The US is looking to involve Indonesia in increasingly complex military operations. Jakarta has taken a sometimes sceptical eye towards an expanded American military presence in Asia, but there are indications that it is open to changing this.

As its military tries to focus more on Asia, the Pentagon is hoping to step up the defence trade between Washington and its partners in Asia. In Malaysia on Sunday, Mr Hagel announced that it was seeking a 50-per-cent increase in funds to support foreign militaries and training in the South-east Asian region, including grants or loans to help other countries buy US weapons.

Critics, however, have contended that such sales would feed an arms race between China and its neighbours. Agencies