RI blamed for cancellation of vital research mission
RI blamed for cancellation of vital research mission
SYDNEY (AFP): A U.S.-Australian scientific program to probe the secrets of the El Nino weather phenomenon has been blocked by Indonesia because of fears it was a spy mission, scientists and officials here believe.
Officials said Canberra was "very disappointed" its research vessel Franklin was twice forced to abandon missions into Indonesian territorial waters because of Jakarta's refusal or failure to approve the ship's entry.
The study, by Australian and U.S. scientists in collaboration with Indonesian researchers, is considered vital to Australia's interests because of the impact the El Nino phenomenon has had on Australia's economy in recent years.
The oceanography division of Canberra's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), which owns the Franklin, was forced to postpone research in the Java Sea in April after Jakarta refused permission on the grounds it had not followed correct procedures in its application.
On its most recent attempt, the CSIRO said the ship left Australia in early September to begin a 32-day research cruise to survey what meteorologists term the "Indonesian outflow."
Permission had been sought from Jakarta to take the ship into its territorial waters to study the system of currents which allow water to flow from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean.
But a CSIRO spokesman said yesterday that the necessary permission was not granted and the ship was forced to continue the research elsewhere.
"I'm pretty sure the Americans were refused permission, but in our case we just didn't receive an answer by the time the last opportunity to get some sort of response was past," the spokesman said, adding that the research was continued elsewhere.
A spokeswoman for Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans told AFP the government was very disappointed that Indonesia had not co-operated.
But it was too early to say if the study had failed because of Indonesia's attitude. "We are not sure at this stage what impact the decision has on the viability of the project," she said.
"We have made representations over several months to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry and we made a number of proposals which we had hoped would meet their reservations, but I can't go any further at this stage."
Other sources in Canberra said it appeared Jakarta was abnormally suspicious that the study was an intelligence gathering exercise and not a pure scientific mission.