Australia plays down RI 'warplane incident'

Australia plays down RI 'warplane incident'

SYDNEY (AFP): Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Sunday
Australia would not pursue an incident between Indonesian and
Australian warplanes.

"There was an incident, our ambassador's raised it with the
Indonesians and we will just let it pass," he told Channel Nine
TV.

Downer said the Australian pilots were forced to use hand
signals to communicate with the Indonesian pilots during the
interception in international airspace.

The incident occurred on Wednesday amid continuing allegations
of Australian invasions of Indonesian air space, which have all
been denied by Australia.

On Wednesday morning four unarmed F/A18s and one B-707 of the
Royal Australian Air Force were en route to Singapore from Darwin
when they were intercepted by two armed Indonesian F5 aircraft
south of West Timor.

"The RAAF believes the aircraft were armed," Downer said.

"These five Australian aircraft did have approval to overfly
Indonesia.

"After the F-5 aircraft flew by - one of them apparently flew
within 20 feet (six meters) of one of the Australian aircraft -
after this incident the Australian aircraft continued on their
journey across Indonesia and through to Singapore."

Downer said he did not believe the Australian planes were
threatened.

"As I understand it, what happened was the two aircraft came
up to meet with the five Australian aircraft and flew alongside
them," he said.

"The Indonesians say that they had endeavored to communicate
by radio and were unable to do so, so there were some
communications between the Australian F-18 pilots and the
Indonesian F-5 pilots through hand signals.

"Then the F-5 aircraft left."

Downer said the Indonesians had very recently moved the
aircraft to a new base, closer to Australia, but said no
conclusions should be drawn from that.

"I think it's possible that the Indonesians at the airbase
weren't aware of the clearances that had been given but I just
don't know.

Indonesia has made repeated claims that Australian aircraft
have violated its airspace, with one legislator going so far as
to suggest these so-called black flights should be shot down.

No evidence of the flights has been produced and Australia has
consistently denied them.