Battle of Arafura Sea

The Battle of Arafura Sea (Indonesian: Pertempuran Laut Aru), also known as the Battle of Vlakke Hoek (Dutch: Slag bij Vlakke Hoek), was a naval battle in the Vlakke Hoek Bay (Etna Bay) of the Arafura Sea in Western New Guinea on January 15, 1962 between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

Battle of Arafura Sea
Part of the West New Guinea dispute

Indonesian stamp commemorating the battle.
DateJanuary 15, 1962
Location
Arafura Sea
Result

Dutch victory

Belligerents
 Indonesia  Netherlands
Commanders and leaders
Komodor Yos Sudarso †
Kolonel Sudomo (POW)
Kapten Wiratno †
(Captain of RI Matjan Tutul)
Kapten Memet Sastrawiria †
(Yos Sudarso's aide)
Kapten Tjiptadi †		 Unknown
Units involved
Indonesian Navy Royal Netherlands Navy
Strength

3 Jaguar-class fast attack craft

  • KRI Matjan Tutul
  • KRI Matjan Kumbang
  • KRI Harimau
Casualties and losses
1 torpedo boat sunk
2 torpedo boats disabled
39 killed
53 captured		 None

The battle stopped an attempt by the Indonesian Navy to land 150 soldiers in Kaimana in Dutch New Guinea for sabotage and to incite the local population against the Dutch government. Commodore Yos Sudarso was in charge of the operation at sea, while Colonel Murshid commanded the infiltrators. Three Indonesian torpedo boats left the Aru Islands in the middle of the night but were intercepted near the New Guinea coast by a Dutch Neptune reconnaissance plane, as the Dutch had anticipated the action for weeks. The torpedo boats responded to the flares sent off by the plane by shooting at it. The Dutch destroyer HNLMS Evertsen then joined the scene and sank KRI Matjan Tutul, commanded by Sudarso. The other two ships, KRI Matjan Kumbang and KRI Harimau, fled, but one hit a reef and the other was hit by gunfire and disabled. Evertsen was able to save most of the crew of Matjan Tutul, but at least three sailors died, among whom was Commodore Sudarso.[1]

The Indonesian action itself was an abject failure and General Nasution even refused to relay the bad news to President Sukarno, forcing Colonel Murshid to do this in person.[1] However, the small battle was partially responsible for the subsequent involvement of the Soviet Union and United States in the Western New Guinea dispute,[2] and it is honored in Indonesia by "Oceanic Duty Day" (Hari Dharma Samudera), an annual nationwide day of remembrance. Twelve years after his death, Yos Sudarso was officially added to the register of Indonesian heroes of the Revolution, while KRI Harimau was made into a monument at the Purna Bhakti Pertiwi museum in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.[3]

References
  1. Rob Bruins Slot and Gerda Jansen Hendriks, 50 years after the Battle of Vlakke Hoek. Near-war with Indonesia about New Guinea, at www.geschiedenis24.nl (in Dutch)
  2. Djiwandono, Soedjati (1996). Konfrontasi Revisited: Indonesia's Foreign Policy Under Soekarno. Jakarta: Centre for Strategic and International Studies. pp. 133–5. ISBN 978-9798026522.
  3. "KRI Harimau, Saksi Bisu Pertempuran Laut Aru". 19 March 2012.

Further reading
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