'Radar detected aircraft'

JAKARTA (JP): Air Force Chief Vice Marshal Sutria Tubagus has denied claims that this week's illegal incursion by two foreign aircraft into Kalimantan was a sign of weakness in Indonesia's air defense system.

"Our radar system detected the two aircraft when they entered the Indonesian air space," Sutria said at the Armed Forces headquarters yesterday.

National Air Defense Command Chief Rear Marshal Irawan Saleh said the radar system had detected the French civil training aircraft long before they crossed the border into Indonesia.

He said the radar could detect aircraft flying 200 miles outside the exclusive economic zone. "In 1996, we detected 57 foreign aircraft trying to enter Indonesia," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Irawan said the authorities did not intercept the two French aircraft because they were civil training planes which were "not dangerous".

According to Sutria, there were no political motives behind the two training aircraft's intrusion. "It happened only because of an administrative error," he said.

The Thunder Bird (TB-200) F-OHUT and F-OHUU are still impounded at Banjarmasin's Syamsuddin Noor Airport in South Kalimantan. They arrived Monday after refueling in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Feb. 9.

The pilots, Sylvestre Lourent-Mariel, 28, and Ricceto-Fabrice, 27, have been detained for questioning. They lacked the necessary flight approval from the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation, immigration clearance from the Armed Forces headquarters and entry permits from the immigration department.

Sutria said the pilots and their aircraft would be allowed to continue their journey to Australia as soon as they obtained the necessary documents from the Indonesian authorities. (pan)