Investigation into U.S. jets' intrusion goes on

Investigation into U.S. jets' intrusion goes on

Tiarma Siboro The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Concern over the possible unauthorized entry on Thursday of five United States' F-18 Hornet warplanes into Indonesian airspace continues as an investigation into the case goes on.

U.S. embassy spokesman Stanley Harsha said that the U.S. jet fighters did not violate Indonesia's airspace or international law.

"We notified (the Indonesian government) prior to conducting the exercise. The aircraft maneuver is a normal procedure and indeed it is in accordance with international law," Harsha told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Harsha, however, refused to disclose the intended destination of the planes, which were reportedly accompanying several U.S. Navy vessels.

Indonesia's Air Force spokesman Commodore Sagom Tamboen said that unlike Indonesia, the U.S. has not ratified a convention on territorial zones.

Tamboen was referring to the 1944 Chicago Convention which stipulates that each country holds full authority over its territory and that foreign countries' ships or planes wishing to pass through the territory have to secure a permit or get a certain agreement beforehand.

Meanwhile, Hasjim Djalal, Indonesia's expert on international law agreed with Harsha, saying the U.S. had not violated any law because "Indonesia has yet to determine its own sea lanes connecting the eastern and western zones."

Based on the government regulation No. 37/2002, he said, Indonesia had only stated three sea lanes covering the northern zone to the southern zone.

Hasjim said that according to the international maritime law, the South China Sea, as well as the Karimata Sea, Java Sea, Sunda Sea and the Indian Ocean, were international routes that lead to the eastern zone, and "since Indonesia has yet to confirm its eastern and western sea lanes, foreign planes and vessels are free to pass by."

The Java Sea is on the route connecting the eastern and western zones.

Hasjim urged the government to immediately determine its sea lanes so as to avoid such confusion in the future.

Debate over Indonesia's sovereignty and its territorial zones surfaced after an incident involving the country's F-16 fighters made contact with five U.S. F-18 Hornet jets on Thursday while performing "strange maneuvers for more than two hours above Bawean island in the Java Sea."

Both sides were close to firing on each other as the F-18 fighters went into attack mode and had their missiles locked on Indonesia's planes.

The U.S. jet fighters were in the area escorting a U.S. aircraft carrier, two frigates and a tanker. Speculation has been rife that the planes were on their way to Iraq.

According to Sagom, the planes have left Indonesia's territory and "it is not our business what their destination is."

"The U.S. stance has put us in a difficult position because it shows that we are prone to various such intrusions. But the Air Force has no authority to discuss the matter because we leave all diplomatic issues to the Foreign Ministry and other related institutions," Sagom told the Post.

The ministry was not available for comment when contacted by the Post on Saturday.

In Surabaya, Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil said that Indonesia had not issued any official statement on the case pending an investigation.

The incident occurred amid controversies over the government decision to buy the Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters for an ailing Air Force suffering from the military embargo imposed by the U.S. in 1999.

Indonesia purchased several U.S.-made F-16s and F-5s, but only a few of them are currently operational due to a lack of spare parts.

Separately, legislator Alvin Lie of the National Mandate Party (PAN) proposed on Saturday that Indonesia sell all its F-16s and replace them with the Sukhois because "we have problems with the operation of F-16s amidst serious threats of (national) disintegration."

Alvin was referring to the war against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels in Aceh.

"The embargo imposed by the U.S. is hurting the Indonesian people's hearts," Alvin said as quoted by Antara.