Govt ponders action against U.S. intrusion of airspace

Govt ponders action against U.S. intrusion of airspace

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono said on Monday that the government would decide
in the next two days whether or not it would file a complaint
over the entry of five F-18 Hornet jets into Indonesian airspace.

"All information and evidence over the incident has been
provided by the Air Force's National Air Defense Command and
indeed we need one or two days more to conclude whether or not
the entry of the U.S. jets violated our territorial zone.

"The government is also considering taking diplomatic action
because we have to maintain our sovereignty as well as the
country's legal system," Susilo told the press on Monday.

Susilo said Navy chief Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh had said that
the U.S. jets had intruded because "the U.S. pilots failed to
communicate with local air traffic control, which is the standard
operating procedure."

Last Thursday, five U.S. Hornet jets flew above Indonesia's
Bawean island in the Java Sea as they escorted a U.S. aircraft
carrier, two frigates and a tanker.

The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said over the weekend that it had
notified the Indonesian government about the flights and asserted
that the maneuvers were "normal procedures and indeed it is in
accordance with international law."

The Hornets were first spotted by a Bouraq airline plane,
which immediately contacted air traffic control (ATC) in
Surabaya.

National Air Defense Commander Rear Marshall Wresniwiro said
regardless of whether the U.S. had notified Indonesia or not,
"the U.S. had ignored standard procedures by not contacting the
ATC".

"Contacting the local ATC -- in this case the one in Surabaya
-- to inform us of the arrival of the U.S. warplanes is standard
international procedure to avoid possible incidents with
commercial planes," Wresniwiro told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

International law expert Hikmahanto Juwana of the University
of Indonesia (UI) said the country would likely fail if it filed
a protest because "we have yet to determine our sea-lanes".

Hikmahanto, nevertheless, said the country could file a
complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) because "the entry and maneuver of these jets jeopardized
other flights."

"Maybe the ICAO will rule that the entry of these jets without
contacting the local ATC might have posed a danger to the Bouraq
flight and, of course, there will be serious sanctions that could
be imposed on the U.S. pilots."

Hikmahanto asked why the U.S. jets failed to inform the ATC if
the flights were "innocent".

"Based on international maritime law, foreign vessels or
planes are allowed to pass through a country's territory if they
do not have any motives that can harm the country's safety.

"Therefore, during the investigation process, it is very
important for Indonesia to ask for clarification about the
destination of these planes," he told the Post by telephone.