Indonesian Army Withdraws Fighter Jets from Australia
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Jumat, 19 Oktober 2018 21:46 WIB
F-16 fighter jets. REUTERS/US Air Force.
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian National Army has temporarily halt its military cooperation with the Australian administration by withdrawing six F-16 fighter jets from a joint-excercise in Darwin.
"The jets will be returning to Indonesia by Thursday [November 21]," said Indonesia National Army Chief of Staff General Moeldoko.
The Chief of Staff mentioned that the jets were supposed to participate in a joint military exercise between the two nations in November 24. Moreover, General Moeldoko confirmed that several operations have also been temporarily stopped such as joint patrols and military educations.
The call was made in relation to the government's stance in response to the wiretapping activities conducted by the Australian Government. Any forms of cooperations related to information and intelligance exchange will later be re-assessed.
General Moeldoko claimed that such action will inevitably disturb the bilateral relation between the two nations. However, he claimed that the Army will attempt to keep things balanced.
