Indonesia boosts military presence near Australia and ramps up efforts to increase its firepower

INDONESIA has boosted its military presence near Australia and ramped up moves to increase the firepower of its armed forces, according to a report.

It comes at a time of growing turmoil in Australia's relationship with our northern neighbour after revelations last week Australian Navy vessels breached Indonesia's territorial waters while enforcing the Coalition's asylum seeker policy.

As The Jakarta Post reports, Indonesia has deployed "a number" of navy vessels to patrol its coast after the Australian incursion last week. The nation's Air Force has also programmed four radars to monitor the country's southern border.

Indonesia boosts military presence near Australia and ramps up efforts to increase its firepower

The Post also quoted an anonymous official who said a clash at sea could be "imminent".

"Now that we have three frigates on the border, a clash could be imminent as our Navy will prevent the towing back," the official said.

Where to begin...

Indonesia has used spying claims from 2009, under a previous government, in an attempt to damage Australia through alternative means. They have frozen bilateral relations on military matters, asylum seekers and have even threatened to halt trade with Australia. Not to mention they have removed their ambassador to Australia. This is clearly a government with an ulterior motive. Perhaps one to harm Australia.

The Australian government had apologised to Indonesia over an incident whereby the Australian Navy had accidentally crossed into Indonesian waters during an operation used to turn back asylum seekers. The Indonesian government has responded in the way you see in this thread, through boosting its military presence near Australia, while also attempting to increase its firepower.

Now we have reports from an anonymous official stating that conflict could be imminent, as they will ensure that the boats do not get turned back.

I think the Australian government is doing right, protecting its borders from a clear Indonesian problem.

If they want to harm Australia as a result of an incident which happened 4 - 5 years ago, then i say we should push back. I think Australia needs to stop bending over for its neighbours. It is about time we stand up for ourselves...

Thanks.

reply to post by daaskapital


Didn't the book series Tomorrow when the War Began (An Aussie Red Dawn for Americans) predicted an Indonesian Invasion of Australia

starwarsisreal
reply to post by daaskapital

 

Didn't the book series Tomorrow when the War Began (An Aussie Red Dawn for Americans) predicted an Indonesian Invasion of Australia

The books (and movie) do cover a foreign invasion of Australia, but that foreign force is never actually revealed.

Australia is effectively a country which cannot be invaded successfully, especially by a state such as Indonesia. I think there is a reason as to why Japan forfeited their Australian invasion plans.

Thanks for the comment.

Lets do the comparison: Globalfir epower.com


Hmm, seems like there are a lot more of those small corvettes on the Indonesian side, but a significantly larger number of frigattes on the Australian side.

Considering that corvettes are usually bestsuited if used close to coasts, this is not an indicator for an immediate thread.


Nevertheless - Australia just has to give a "bark" and the USA will protect "them", AKA expanding their influence on the asian coasts by providing some fleet powers.

reply to post by daaskapital

I think there is a reason as to why Japan forfeited their Australian invasion plans.

Oh, there was a BIG reason. It's name was MacArthur and he was one pissed puppy as he led the fight back up the island chains to Japan itself. All done with invaluable help from Australians, of course.

reply to post by daaskapital


Could not agree more Das!

The Indonesians are still dirty over East Timor and will use any justification to throw muck.

The threat is fairly serious, as evidenced by their shopping cart - which purportedly consists of -

30 - F/16 fighters, 12 - Apache attack helicopters, 103 - Leopard tanks purchased from Germany and the US.
They are also buying 12 - cruise missile equipped Russian Submarines ...

Our defence budget should reflect this amassing of heavy weapons on our doorstep. They do not like us !

Having said that - it seems to be no coincidence that we have the US building up troop numbers in the North.

Wrabbit2000
reply to post by daaskapital

 

I think there is a reason as to why Japan forfeited their Australian invasion plans.

Oh, there was a BIG reason. It's name was MacArthur and he was one pissed puppy as he led the fight back up the island chains to Japan itself. All done with invaluable help from Australians, of course.

I remember reading that Japan was very well going to invade Australia by landing their forces at two main areas. They had originally planned to land a force in Darwin, but upon realising that it would have been too dificiult to take the city, and gather forces to traverse the Australia continent, had relocated their plan to land a force in between Brisbane and Townsville. Their first objective would be Brisbane, and their second, Sydney. If Australia wouldn't surrender by the time Sydney and Brisbane had been taken, they would have taken Melbourne.

Apparently, it was only two things which stopped the Japanese invasion.

1: Australian forces had defeated the intended Japanese invasion force in New Guinea.

2: Australian and US forces had cut off the supply lines through island hopping.

All of this information was stated by a Japanese national who was at the nerve centre of the Japanese Navy. Upon the release of the aforementioned information, he was taken in and interrogated/tortured by the US in the presence of an Australian officer, before coming out and saying that the information was incorrect.

Mr. Sato indicated that the Japanese Navy was responsible for the implementation of plans to invade and occupy Australia. He indicated that he was always at the nerve centre of the Japanese Navy.

The article indicated that Mr Sato had stated that the Japanese had realised that it would have been too difficult to move a large force south from Darwin and had then decided to attack the Queensland coast midway between Townsville and Brisbane. He indicated that communications were good and the population was sparse in that area of Queensland.

The city of Brisbane was reportedly the first objective of this so-called Invasion Plan of Australia. It was believed that Brisbane could be taken quite readily with a minimum of cost and resistance.

Sydney was the next objective and was to be attacked by land and amphibious forces. They then planned to move on to Melbourne, but by this time, they anticipated that Australia would have surrendered. Mr Sato claimed that moral in Australia was low at that time, and that Australian complaints about Britain deserting Australia was evidence of this fact.

According to Mr. Sato, things changed when orders were issued for the Japanese forces to take Milne Bay and Port Moresby. The Japanese were not willing to risk another operation in Australian while their supply lines were in peril. Again, according to Mr. Sato, the Japanese campaign in New Guinea used up all the forces originally intended for the invasion of Australia. Mr. Sato indicated that the Japanese had initially thought the Australian forces would be a pushover in New Guinea. This they abruptly found not to be the case. Despite this underestimation of the Australians fighting ability, Mr Sato indicated that the Japanese believed that Australia could be persuaded to become neutral. The Japanese propaganda machine turned itself to achieving this goal.

Mr. Sato indicated that Australians would not have been treated very harshly if we had surrendered. He seemed to know a great many leading Australians and he indicated that he was quite certain a good number of Australians would have agreed to co-operate with the Japanese.

The article stated that Mr. Sato had a "pile of information about Australia feet high." He indicated that the information had been obtained by:-

monitoring Australian broadcasts
espionage
intelligence
and at the notorious Ofuna POW Camp

...

Following the publication of this article on 1 January 1946, Mr. J.B. Chifley, the Prime Minister of Australia wrote to General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan on 21 January 1946. MacArthur immediately ordered an investigation by his military intelligence group.

Mr. Sato was interrogated by US military intelligence in the presence of Major R. L. Hughes of the Australian Service Mission. They wrote a report dated 2 March 1946 detailing their interrogation of Ken Sato. General Douglas MacArthur, then wrote to Mr. Chifley on 5 March 1946, attaching a copy of the report by the interrogation officer, which contained the results of the interrogation of Mr. Ken Sato and listed the Australians with whom Sato claimed acquaintance.

...

Sato indicated that the newspaper had misquoted him.

Sorry for the extensive quote:

www.ozatwar.com...

------

To address MacArthur, a lot of Australians actually do not/did not like him. During wartime, he was known to have chastised Australian soldiers for the smallest of defeats, only to claim American victory for battles of which the Australians would win...

Thanks for the comment.

A country that cannot protect it's borders will lose it's very identity if not all/most of it's assets.

As the population of the world grows and the wealth disparity increases IMO we will see more and more of certain populations voting with their feet and trying to move to places where they can breed a flourish.

Some of the movements, in a different time long past, would have been considered an act of war and the boats would have been fired upon and sunk if not all killed upon landfall. Kill a few and let it be known if you do "X" you will surly get "Y" as a response; problem goes away or comes to a head and is finally resolved through force of arms... Kinda like Israel does and is condemned regularly; which does not seem to stop them.

The world is much more tolerant and civilized now except for a few places according to attitudes and news reports.

I am confused by Indonesia getting shirty about the Australian Navy ships in their waters, because under international Law they are allowed access, transit rights etc...

It does seem like they are trying to find a reason to have a scrap...

Indonesia..

we give them aid
military hardware
intelligence
money

and they still moan and complain. They still lock up our citizens for indefinite periods.

Hey Tony Abbott, stop being a wimp.
If Indonesia wont assist stopping the boats. Stop the cheque's and aid.

They will change their tune pretty quick.

reply to post by daaskapital

I remember reading that Japan was very well going to invade Australia by landing their forces at two main areas. They had originally planned to land a force in Darwin, but upon realising that it would have been too dificiult to take the city, and gather forces to traverse the Australia continent, had relocated their plan to land a force in between Brisbane and Townsville.

I've heard a few stories from folk who claim their parents saw Japanese subs, from places such as Gladstone and Hervey Bay on the Queensland coast. And the fact that they managed to sneak a sub into Sydney harbour reinforces those claims. Maybe they were on a reconnaissance mission, plotting the eastern seaboard as they went.

reply to post by daaskapital


If you ever have a chance..You'd probably be interested to look up the International Court out of the UN. These days it pretty well handles disputes between nations, but also holds images and copies of all the documents of both Nuremberg and the Pacific Tribunals. It's always interesting to hear history directly in the words of the principles of both sides of the war. It wasn't exactly interviews with the local paper for the Japanese High Command and German High Command ...but they were a talkative bunch and history, for that anyway, is grateful. We have so much of it.

Indonesia has claimed that the Australian mainland is reachable by their airforce, and has readied the closest airbase, along with their special forces for any future violation of the borders from Australia...

INDONESIA has beefed up its military presence in waters off its southern border as military officials claim its air force is ready and that Australia is "reachabale" if there are any more border violations.

Indonesian military officials have today told the Jakarta Post its Navy warships, including frigates, fast torpedo craft and corvettes as well as maritime patrol aircraft, have been deployed to waters off its southern border.

Four Air Force defence radars have also been programmed to closely monitor the area.

"We are watching four radars in Timika, Merauke (in Papua), Saumlaki (Maluku) and Buraen (East Nusa Tenggara), which all face Australia," Air Force chief spokesman Air Commodore Hadi Tjahjanto told The Jakarta Post.

Indonesian Army Special Forces are said to be ready for any future border violations, with Air Commodore Hadi Tjahjanto declaring that the air base in Makassar will be ‘ready’.

"If we notice any border violations, our air base in Makassar will be ready. Australia is reachable from there."

Things aren't looking so good...

www.dailytelegraph.com.au... 07812

Wrabbit2000
reply to post by daaskapital

 

I think there is a reason as to why Japan forfeited their Australian invasion plans.

Oh, there was a BIG reason. It's name was MacArthur and he was one pissed puppy as he led the fight back up the island chains to Japan itself. All done with invaluable help from Australians, of course.

I see you watched the south pacific mini series also....

I kind of get the feeling that if war breaks out between Australia and Indonesia tomorrow, A country with a population of 197million people 80% of which are Muslim, its not really going to be such a big deal on ATS. It seems Germanicas was right all along.

Wrabbit2000
reply to post by daaskapital

 

I think there is a reason as to why Japan forfeited their Australian invasion plans.

Oh, there was a BIG reason. It's name was MacArthur and he was one pissed puppy as he led the fight back up the island chains to Japan itself. All done with invaluable help from Australians, of course.

Jeezuz wrabbit youd think Mac Arthur was superman....i guess all those Kiwis,Aussies,Ghurkas,Tommies,Canadians,and SE Asian soldiers and guerillas did SFA.....

Owh please stop..stop make negatif thinking just because border..its just ordinary, and please dont grow the problem into other problem..we love each other..
I am from indonesia

cheesy
Owh please stop..stop make negatif thinking just because border..its just ordinary, and please dont grow the problem into other problem..we love each other..
I am from indonesia

Cheesy my friend it is very seldom that it is the people who cause conflicts. It is TPTB that control them that set the table all must feed from that are the root of most problems.

Have not seen you posting much lately hope all is well and life is good for you.

cheesy
Owh please stop..stop make negatif thinking just because border..its just ordinary, and please dont grow the problem into other problem..we love each other..
I am from indonesia

I'm not trying to be biased, but it is difficult when Indonesia refuses to conduct bilateral relations with Australia due to an incident which occurred in 2009.

Indonesia is also threatening harm to Australia by boosting its military at the border and saying that their special forces and air force are ready for any further border violations. They are also saying that the Australian mainland is reachable from Indonesia.

This is war-like rhetoric which should be taken seriously. I understand it is election year in your country though, so it may just be your government puffing its chest.

That doesn't mean that Australia should ignore the threats, as they do sound serious.

I hope cooler heads prevail, but things are going down hill very quickly.

Thanks for commenting.

daaskapital
Indonesia has claimed that the Australian mainland is reachable by their airforce, and has readied the closest airbase, along with their special forces for any future violation of the borders from Australia...

INDONESIA has beefed up its military presence in waters off its southern border as military officials claim its air force is ready and that Australia is "reachabale" if there are any more border violations.

Indonesian military officials have today told the Jakarta Post its Navy warships, including frigates, fast torpedo craft and corvettes as well as maritime patrol aircraft, have been deployed to waters off its southern border.

Four Air Force defence radars have also been programmed to closely monitor the area.

"We are watching four radars in Timika, Merauke (in Papua), Saumlaki (Maluku) and Buraen (East Nusa Tenggara), which all face Australia," Air Force chief spokesman Air Commodore Hadi Tjahjanto told The Jakarta Post.

Indonesian Army Special Forces are said to be ready for any future border violations, with Air Commodore Hadi Tjahjanto declaring that the air base in Makassar will be ‘ready’.

"If we notice any border violations, our air base in Makassar will be ready. Australia is reachable from there."

Things aren't looking so good...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.dailytelegraph.com.au... 07812

edit on 23-1-2014 by daaskapital because: links

edit on 23-1-2014 by daaskapital because: sp

Lets settle down a bit. Regardless of what Indonesia says (if true and not media hype) its claims are frankly baseless. There is no threat.

Can we consider the following (Short list).

Aussie has "Over the Horizon radar surveillance."
RAAF Tindal Air Force base is close. (Katherine)
Large bases at Robertson (Army) Larrakia (Army and Navy). (Darwin)
Distinct US Marine Force presence.

Off hand we have many Indonesian nationals in the Northern Capital.
Often undertake military exercises in conjunction with our Pacific neighbours.
Darwin is a stop over for travel to Indonesia tourist locations.
Assisting with substantial Foreign aid exceeding our own National assistance programs.
Gifting military hardware.

International interest in the Northern reaches of Aussie albeit mining (China). Tourism (across the board). Defense (US). Indigenous (UN). Peace Keeping Austalasian Pacicic nations. (NZ, Papua, East Timor, Solomon, Fiji) to name a few.

I tend to surmise that all this talk is 'bluff' and hyped by media misrepresentation. As is the term "Racist"

No nation would assault Australia without International condemnation. Something media never gets the gist of. (They make it up to sell stories)

Bally