Navy deploys antiterror reinforcement troops
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Navy has increased patrols in the waters bordering Indonesia and neighboring countries to prevent the infiltration of terrorists, its chief said on Monday.
The patrols are being conducted by the antiterror unit of the Amphibious Forces Command (Kopaska) in the Straits of Malacca and the waters near the maritime boundaries with the Philippines and East Timor.
"We have upped the number of sea raider teams from two to four to carry out the patrols," Navy chief Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh told Antara after a commander's roll-call at the Navy Education Command in Surabaya.
He said the patrols would in particular be stepped up in the waters of Sangir Talaud islands in North Sulawesi and Sulu island in North Maluku which abut the Philippines, which he said were vulnerable to arms smuggling during the sectarian conflict in Maluku between 1999 and 2001.
"There have been many jail breakers from the Philippines intercepted in these areas, not to mention the bomb that rocked Manado. Bunaken island also once received a bomb threat," Bernard recalled.
A bomb damaged the fence of the Philippines consulate in the North Sulawesi capital of Manado on the same day that bomb blasts ripped through two nightclubs in Bali, leaving 202 people dead on Oct. 12 last year.
Bernard said a study conducted by the Navy disclosed that acts of terror usually targeted economic facilities, and there was a possibility that the terrorists were eying maritime economic targets.
"Around 90 percent of the goods transported by sea in the Asia Pacific area pass Malacca Strait. These vessels are among the economic symbols that could be targeted for attack," he said.
The Straits of Malacca constitute the international trade corridor where shipping is most vulnerable to pirate attack.
Bernard said he had issued his warning of the threat of terror at sea during a meeting of Navy chiefs from Asia Pacific countries in Tokyo last year.
The Indonesian Navy has been intensifying intelligence activities to contain the possible entry of terror suspects by sea.
"I have ordered naval intelligence to work together with other parties. We are not the best, so we need to share our findings with other intelligence agencies," Bernard said.
Indonesia and Malaysia were scheduled to host the a joint anti-sea mine exercise involving 16 Asia Pacific countries last April, but it was postponed until next year due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak.
Bernard said the exercise was aimed at enhancing cooperation among the armed forces in the region to combat terrorism.
"Terrorists could also use sea mines in their attacks," he said.