Navy breached Indonesian waters six times under Operation Sovereign Borders, review finds

Updated

An internal review shows the Australian Navy breached Indonesia's territorial waters six times because crew carrying out Operation Sovereign Borders failed to accurately calculate Indonesia's maritime borders.

"Crews intended to remain outside Indonesian waters," the report said.

"Each incursion was inadvertent and occurred as a result of miscalculation of Indonesian maritime boundaries by Australian crews."

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has backed the report's findings, saying they show the incursions, although "highly regrettable", were "accidental".

Five recommendations of joint review: Chief of Joint Operations and Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Border Enforcement) ACBPS consider the review and monitoring processes undertaken by Headquarters Joint Task Force 639 and the Australian Maritime Security Operations Centre for any individual lapses in professional conduct that contributed to incursions by Australian vessels into Indonesian waters.

Chief of Navy consider each incursion by RAN vessels into Indonesian waters during Operation Sovereign Borders, with regard to any individual lapses in professional conduct.

Force preparation training for Australian vessels designated to be assigned to Operation Sovereign Borders should be amended to ensure crews are prepared to conduct operations while remaining outside Indonesian waters.

Range of policies, procedures and operational documents be reviewed as a result of the incursions by Australian vessels into Indonesian waters.

Border Force Capability Division review operational training provided to ACBPS Commanding Officers and Enforcement Commanders to ensure a tactical appreciation of UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The report says the Navy is only supposed to carry out operations to deny asylum seekers passage to Australia outside 12 nautical miles of Indonesia's archipelagic baseline, and where it is safe to do so.

The incursions were first detected on January 15 when it was realised operations reports did not correlate with where the vessels were supposed to be patrolling.

The report made 10 findings and five recommendations urging the Chief of Navy and the head of Customs to review breaches "with regard to any individual lapses in professional conduct".

It also encouraged a review of procedures and further training.

Mr Morrison says the chief of the Navy, vice admiral Ray Griggs, briefed his Indonesian counterpart about the findings of the report.

"Subsequent discussions have been had through our mission and formal notes have been provided also to the government of Indonesia through the diplomatic channels and there is the standing offer of further verbal briefings if requested," he said.

Mr Morrison says the Government has already apologised to Indonesia.

But a spokesperson from the Indonesian Navy told the ABC last week that the apology is not the Federal Government's official stance because it was done through a media release.

Indonesia is also unlikely to accept Australia's claim that the breaches were an accident and not deliberate.

"In this day and age, navigation equipments to determine [the] position of war vessels are very modern," Untung Suropati, a spokesman for the Indonesian Navy, told the ABC last week.

"It was baseless for them to say that what happened was unintentional or a form of ignorance."

Morrison confident Indonesian concerns allayed

When asked if he thinks Indonesia's concerns have been allayed, Mr Morrison said: "I do have that confidence based on the exchanges that have been reported to me."

"I'm satisfied that we've gone through a very good process with the government of Indonesia. We have been very forthright," he said.

"The minute we knew about it, we advised them, we apologised, we initiated a review, we have advised them of the outcomes of that review in some detail."

Mr Morrison says any decision on disciplinary action over the incursions is a matter for the Chief of the Navy.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop says Australia has been open about the error, apologised and that should be the end of the matter.

"Australia has been very candid and open about what was clearly an inadvertent understanding of the territorial boundaries," she said.

"We respect Indonesia's sovereign boundaries, we respect their territorial boundaries and when there is a mistake, we acknowledge it, we apologise profusely and we move on."

Topics: navy, defence-forces, federal-government, immigration, australia, indonesia, asia

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