Minister summons U.S. envoy over Hornet intrusion
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government summoned U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce on Thursday to clarify the allegedly unauthorized intrusion of five American jet fighters into the country's airspace.
Speaking after meeting with Boyce, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Indonesia officially lodged its "deep concern" that the U.S. navy F-18 Hornets might have violated the country's airspace.
Susilo said Boyce told him the U.S. had notified Indonesian Military authorities before the overflight by a group of American jet fighters.
"But regretfully, the TNI Headquarters did not receive (the notification) in time," Susilo said.
He refused to discuss which office within the military command might have received the U.S. notification, saying, "I'm not going to talk about such bureaucratic matters."
Indonesia's Air Force has reportedly said the Hornets locked onto the F-16 jets sent to intercept them last week before communication was established.
Susilo said the U.S. government was "very seriously" responding to Jakarta's concern over the incident.
"I have received a U.S. commitment that its jet fighters will not fly over Indonesian airspace unless we give them permission," he said.
Boyce did not speak to journalists after the meeting.
"The U.S. has also assured us that its warplanes will abide by the Convention on Maritime Law ratified by our country and acknowledged by the U.S. as an international customary law," Susilo said.
He was referring to the 1944 Chicago Convention, which Jakarta ratified in 1992.
"We both believe that the two countries will intensify communications in order to avoid such miscommunication in the future," he said.
The incident, in which the F-18 Hornets were detected on Air Force radar maneuvering over Bawean island in East Java, once again tested ties between Jakarta and Washington.
The Indonesian Air Force dispatched F-16 jet fighters to intercept the American warplanes.
The incident came as the two countries attempt to boost military ties, which were damaged by Jakarta's failure to prevent the rampage in East Timor by military-backed militias when that territory voted for independence in 1999.
The East Timor mayhem led the U.S. to slap an arms embargo on Indonesia.
International law experts have urged Indonesia to lodge a protest over the intrusion, saying it could jeopardize the country's commercial routes.
There has been speculation that the American warplanes were on their way to Iraq, but experts here said that "it is possible the jet fighters were on an espionage mission".
Susilo reported that the U.S. said the planes were flying from Singapore to Australia, and that "it was normal for the jet fighters to conduct an exercise during the journey".
During Thursday's meeting, Susilo was accompanied by National Air Defense Commander Rear Marshall Wresniwiro and Dino Pati Djalal, the director of North and Central American affairs at the foreign ministry.