Navy deploys antiterror reinforcement troops
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.