Indonesian air force planning new military base in Batam

SINGAPORE — The Indonesian Air Force has proposed to set up a new military air base at Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, the Jakarta Post reported.

The new air base is in line with President Joko Widodo’s order to safeguard Indonesia’s borders and uphold national sovereignty.

The Batam base would be the third Air Force base in Riau province, after the Raja Haji Fisabilillah base in Tanjung Pinang and the Raden Sadjad base in Natuna.

Hang Nadim’s airport management team said it received a proposal from the Air Force for a two-hectare plot in the airport’s complex to develop a fighter jet home base. The plot would include facilities for an apron and a hangar capable of accommodating four F-16 fighters.

“The Air Force, via its base in Tanjung Pinang, sent the proposal in March. We have not yet responded to it, as we will first set up a special team,” Hang Nadim’s general operations manager Suwarso reportedly said on Tuesday (May 2).

“The reason to develop (an air base) in Hang Nadim is for the sake of sovereignty of the state and to support access of jet fighters to Natuna, particularly because of Batam’s strategic position,” said Mr Suwarso, who like many Indonesians go by one name.

He said the special team will now study the proposal, as it will affect Hang Nadim’s ability to serve as an alternative airport for Singapore and Malaysia based on international civil aviation guidelines.

As an alternative airport, Hang Nadim collects around 3 billion rupiah (S$314,570) for landing and parking fees annually.

On its Twitter account @_TNIAU, the Indonesian Air Force on Tuesday posted that: “Indonesia’s Navy and Air Force already have bases in Tanjung Pinang, so a plan to set up base in Batam must be based on a serious analysis, since it directly borders on Singapore”.

The Widodo administration has moved to safeguard border sovereignty and combat illegal fishing.

The government has sunk more than 300 vessels over the last three years including some from China, which claims that the waters surrounding the gas-rich Natuna Islands are part of its traditional fishing grounds. The move had led to a spike in tensions with Beijing, after an unusually public spat in March last year over the collision between the Chinese Coast Guard and a Chinese fishing boat being towed by the Indonesian authorities. Three months later, Indonesia’s navy detained a Chinese vessel off the Natunas and arrested seven fishermen.

The Indonesian government announced last year it would build a major joint military base in Natuna waters in Riau province.

Mr Widodo’s government has also indicated that it wants to reclaim control of the Flight Information Region above the Riau Islands from Singapore.

Mr Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law expert at the University of Indonesia said he welcomed the proposal for a third air base in Riau, as it would help the government improve supervision of border regions and tackle illegal poaching by foreigners.

“Our Air Force needs a hangar and home base for the jet fighters closer to Natuna to support their activities around Natuna waters,” he noted. AGENCIES