Singapore ban over Indonesia ship name
Print Edition
Singapore said yesterday it will ban from its ports and naval bases an Indonesian navy ship named after two marines who bombed an office complex in the city-state during a period of tense relations in the 1960s.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the ship will be barred in an ongoing dispute over the Indonesian navy’s decision to name a refurbished frigate after the two marines, Usman Haji Mohamed Ali and Harun Said, who were convicted and executed in Singapore for the bombing of MacDonald House in March 1965.
The attack killed three people and injured 33.
It was part of an effort by then Indonesian president Sukarno to stage an armed confrontation against the newly formed federation of Malaysia, which included Singapore.
“Singapore will not allow this military ship named Usman Harun to call at our ports and naval bases,” Ng said in parliament yesterday.
“It will not be possible for the SAF (Singapore Armed Forces) as protectors of this nation to sail alongside or exercise with this ship.”
Ng said the defence ministry and the SAF were “disappointed and dismayed at this inexplicable move.”
“Even without ill intent, how can the naming of the ship after two bombers build good ties or enhance mutual respect and regard with both our countries?”
Responding to the ban, Indonesian security minister Djoko Suyanto said: “The ship has not even arrived yet, so what’s the fuss?”
“Anyway, who says the ship will be taken to Singapore?”
Ng said the Indonesian vessel’s presence in the high seas would be a “constant reminder of the military aggression and atrocious crimes committed by the Indonesian marines who killed or irreparably damaged the lives of innocent civilians.”
But he added that Singapore would not “over-read and jump at shadows” and would look to rebuild good bilateral military ties with its larger neighbor.
Singapore, which split from Malaysia to become an independent state in 1965, and Indonesia are key members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Indonesia is Singapore’s third largest trading partner, with total bilateral trade reaching Sg$79.4 billion (US$62.6 billion) in 2012.
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