Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has enacted two key laws deemed vital for the nation's military, as an effort to boost the professionalism of the military, local media reported here Saturday.

"Today, I signed the Law on the Defense Industry and the Law on Veterans,"the president said in his address at the ceremony, staged at the Halim Perdanakusuma military airbase in East Jakarta.

Analysts say that the Law on the Defense Industry will provide the framework for the country to revamp its ailing munitions business, obliging the armed forces to purchase the majority of its weaponry locally. The government would also gain a key legal basis needed to provide fiscal incentives, guaranteed financing and tax exemptions to weapons producers and their supporting industries.

"I say that the TNI is the primary component of the country's defense system. Our priority is to maintain and protect the sovereignty of our state and war is always the last resort.'Peace- Loving Indonesia' is our motto, but Indonesia loves its independence even more," Yudhoyono was quoted by the Jakarta globe as saying.

The president said modernizing Indonesia's weaponry was not intended for aggressive purposes.

"It is part of efforts to build a minimum essential force," he said.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the Law on the Defense Industry was vital for the country.

"The law is important to realize an effective defense industry and to produce defense and security equipment,"he said.

President Yudhoyono said that the government would continue to improve the welfare of TNI soldiers in line with its efforts to step up the prosperity of all people in the country.