Jakarta (VNA) –The work performed by Indonesian soldiers in support of the victims of therecent natural disasters has reflected the nature of a military of the people,a professional national military, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said ofthe role of the armed force.

Speaking at a ceremony tomark the 73rd founding anniversary of the Indonesian military, theleader also highlighted the military’s importance in safeguarding the nationalintegrity and responding to natural disasters.

On the occasion, heexpressed his strong belief that the military will win further respect fromother countries in the world, describing the work as evidence proving that theforce is always the first and the most important in defending the country and providinghelp to the people.

President Widodo and theparticipants observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of theearthquakes and tsunami that hit Central Sulawesi province on September 28.

Indonesia announced onOctober 5 the death toll from the disaster had swollen to 1,558.

Central Sulawesi was ravagedby two devastating quakes measuring 6.1 and 7.5 on the Richter scale. Thesecond was followed by giant tsunami waves on the afternoon of the same day,destroying thousands of houses and roads.

The United Nations said thatnearly 200,000 Indonesians, including tens of thousands of children, are inneed of urgent aid.

Indonesia is frequentlystruck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its locationon the "Ring of Fire", an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in thePacific Basin.

A series of earthquakes inJuly and August killed nearly 500 people on the holiday island of Lombok,hundreds of kilometres southwest of Sulawesi.

In December 2004, a massive9.1-magnitude earthquake off the northern Indonesian island of Sumatratriggered a tsunami across the Indian Ocean countries, killing 220,000 peoplein 13 countries, including more than 168,000 in Indonesia. –VNA