'Radar detected aircraft'

'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)