Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation 206387 225742642 2008-07-15T04:56:33Z 121.160.97.247 {{Refimprove|date=November 2007}} {{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation |date=[[1962]]-[[1966]] |place=[[Malay Peninsula]], [[Borneo]] |casus=Formation of Malaysia |territory= |result=[[Peace treaty]] *Normalization of diplomatic relationship *Indonesia accepts the formation of Malaysia |combatant1={{flagicon|Malaysia}} [[Malaysia]]<br> {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]] <br> {{flagicon|New Zealand}} [[New Zealand]] <br> {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Australia]] |combatant2={{flagicon|Indonesia}} [[Indonesia]] <br> |commander1={{flagicon|Malaysia}} [[Tunku Abdul Rahman]] (political)<br>{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Walter Colyear Walker]] (military) |commander2={{flagicon|Indonesia}} [[Sukarno]]<br>{{flagicon|Indonesia}} Air Marshal [[Omar Dani]] }} {{Campaignbox Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation}} {{History of Indonesia}} {{History of Malaysia}} The '''Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation''' was an intermittent battle over the future of the island of [[Borneo]], between British-backed [[Malaysia]] and [[Indonesia]] in 1962–1966. It is called '''''Konfrontasi''''' in [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] and [[Malay language|Malay]]. [[Singapore]] was part of Malaysia at the time. ==Background== In 1961, the island of Borneo was divided into four separate [[state]]s: [[Kalimantan]], an Indonesian [[Provinces of Indonesia|province]], was located in the south of the island. In the north were the [[monarchy|kingdom]] of [[Brunei]] and two [[United Kingdom|British]] [[colony|colonies]]—[[Sarawak]] and [[British North Borneo]] (which was later renamed [[Sabah]]). As a part of its withdrawal from its [[Southeast Asia]]n colonies, the UK moved to combine its colonies on Borneo with the [[Federation of Malaya]] to form [[Malaysia]]. This move was opposed by the government of [[Indonesia]]; President [[Sukarno]] argued that Malaysia was a puppet of the British, and that the consolidation of Malaysia would increase British control over the region, threatening Indonesia's independence. Similarly, the [[Philippines]] made a claim for Sabah, arguing that it had historic links with the Philippines through the [[Sulu Archipelago|Sulu archipelago]]. In [[Brunei]], the Indonesian-backed North Kalimantan National Army (TNKU) revolted on [[December 8]] [[1962]]. They tried to capture the [[Omar Ali Saifuddin III|Sultan of Brunei]], seize the oil fields and take European hostages. The Sultan escaped and asked for British help. He received British and [[Brigade of Gurkhas|Gurkha]] troops from [[Singapore]]. On [[December 16]], British Far Eastern Command claimed that all major rebel centres had been occupied, and on [[April 17]] [[1963]], the rebel commander was captured and the rebellion ended. In order to solve the dispute, the would-be member states of Malaysia met representatives of Indonesia and the Philippines in Manila for several days, starting on [[July 31]] [[1963]]. At the meeting, the Philippines and Indonesia formally agreed to accept the formation of Malaysia if a majority in the disputed region voted for it in a referendum organized by the [[United Nations]]. While the fact-finding mission by the UN was expected to begin on [[August 22]] in the same, delaying tactics by Indonesia forced the mission to start only on [[August 26]]. Nevertheless, the UN expected the referendum report to be published by [[September 14]] [[1963]].<ref>Tun Hanif Omar. Merdeka and Malaysia Day. [[The Star (Malaysia)|''The Star'']]. April 8 2007.</ref> However, North Borneo and Sarawak, anticipating a pro-Malaysia result, declared independence on the sixth anniversary of [[Merdeka Day]], [[August 31]] [[1963]], before the results of the vote were reported.<ref>Tun Hanif Omar. Merdeka and Malaysia Day. [[The Star (Malaysia)|''The Star'']]. April 8 2007.</ref> On [[September 14]], the result enabled the creation of Malaysia which had been agreed upon by all member states on [[September 16]] [[1963]]. The Indonesian government saw this as a broken promise and as evidence of British imperialism. Contrary to popular belief, no firm evidence has ever been unearthed to support claims that Sukarno had territorial ambitions over North Kalimantan{{Fact|date=February 2008}} (he always held firmly to the 1945 decision which delineated Indonesia's boundaries to territories inherited from the former Dutch-Indies, and this might explain why he eagerly pursued [[Papua (Indonesian province)|Papua]]'s—but not [[East Timor]]'s—[[annexation]]){{Fact|date=February 2008}}.(However, the borders of Indonesia initially were not defined, therefore the British felt that there is a chance that he did want to create a world power in South East Asia) More likely was that Sukarno invested hopes for the establishment of a North Kalimantan state aligned to [[Jakarta]]'s anti-colonial and anti-imperialist [[geopolitics]], in which he found suitable allies. {{Fact|date=May 2007}}Sukarno had made it repeatedly clear in at least four public speeches throughout 1963–64 that Indonesia had no territorial ambitions over North Kalimantan, and that Indonesia's territorial pursuit was completed with the "return" of [[Western New Guinea|West Irian]] in January 1963. Local opposition and sentiments against the Malaysian Federation plan has often been under-represented in historical writings on the Brunei Revolt and the subsequent Indonesian-Malaysian Confrontation. In fact, political forces in Sarawak had long anticipated their own national independence as promised (but later aborted) by the last [[White Rajah]] of Sarawak, [[Charles Vyner Brooke]], back in 1941.<ref>Reece (1993: 72)</ref> The predominantly [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malay]] anti-cession movement, which rejected the British takeover of Sarawak in 1946 and had assassinated [[Duncan Stewart]], the first British [[High Commissioner|High-Commissioner]] of Sarawak, may have been the forerunner of the subsequent anti-Malaysia movement in Sarawak, headed by [[Ahmad Zaidi]]. [[Left-wing politics|Left-wing]] and [[communism|communist]] [[Covert cell|cell groups]], which grew rapidly among Sarawak's urban [[Chinese people|Chinese]] communities since the 1950s—which later became the nucleus of the anti-Malaysia [[North Kalimantan People's Army]] (PARAKU) and [[Sarawak People's Guerilla Forces]] (PGRS)—supported and propagated the unification of all British Borneo territories to form an independent leftist North Kalimantan state, an idea originally proposed by Dr. Azhari, leader of the [[Brunei People's Party|Parti Rakyat Brunei]], who had forged links with Sukarno's nationalist movement, together with Ahmad Zaidi, in [[Java]] since the 1940s. The North Kalimantan (or Kalimantan Utara) proposal was seen as a post-[[decolonization]] alternative by local opposition against the Malaysian Federation plan. Local opposition throughout the Borneo territories was primarily based on economic, political, historical and cultural differences between the Borneo states and Malaya, and the refusal to be subjected under peninsular political domination. Both Dr. Azhari and Ahmad Zaidi went into exile in Indonesia during the Confrontation. While the latter returned to Sarawak and managed to have his political status rehabilitated, Dr. Azhari remained in Indonesia until his death in 2001. ==The War== On [[January 20]] [[1963]], Indonesian Foreign Minister [[Subandrio]] announced that Indonesia would pursue a policy of ''Konfrontasi'' with Malaysia. On [[April 12]], Indonesian volunteers—allegedly [[Military of Indonesia|Indonesian Army]] personnel—began to infiltrate Sarawak and Sabah, to engage in raids and sabotage, and spread propaganda. On [[July 27]], Sukarno declared that he was going to "crush Malaysia" ([[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]: ''Ganyang Malaysia''). On [[August 16]], troops of the [[Brigade of Gurkhas]] clashed with fifty Indonesian guerillas. While the Philippines did not engage in warfare, they did break off diplomatic relations with Malaysia. The [[Federation of Malaysia]] was formally established on [[September 16]] [[1963]]. [[Brunei]] decided against joining, and [[Singapore]] was expelled by the Federation in 1965 to become an independent republic. Tensions rose on both sides of the [[Strait of Malacca|Straits of Malacca]]. Two days later, rioters burned the British embassy in [[Jakarta]]. Several hundred rioters ransacked the Singapore embassy in Jakarta and the homes of Singaporean diplomats. In Malaysia, Indonesian agents were captured and crowds attacked the Indonesian embassy in [[Kuala Lumpur]]. Along the remote jungle border in Borneo, there was an ongoing border war; Indonesian troops and irregulars tried to occupy Sarawak and Sabah, with little success. On [[28 September]] [[1963]], a small, successful (though strategically irrelevant) raid was conducted by the Indonesians on the village of Long Jawe, almost wiping out the entire [[Gurkha Rifles]] garrison{{Fact|date=February 2008}}. In early 1964, Indonesian attacks managed to render the strategic Tebedu-Serian-Kuching road unsafe for months, and additional small scale air raids were launched in the [[Kelabit Highlands]] on civilian settlements. One Indonesian raiding party en route to the small town of Song was captured by locals and handed over to the Malaysian authorities in April 1964. In 1964, Indonesian troops began to raid areas in Peninsular Malaysia. In August, 16 armed Indonesian agents were captured in [[Johore]]. Activity by regular Indonesian Army troops over the border also increased. On [[March 14]], [[1964]] Trooper [[James Condon (soldier)|James Condon]] became the first member of the SAS to be killed in [[Borneo]].<ref>van der Bijl, p. 101-102.</ref>Over the period covering the battle in Kalimantan, the Indonesian [[Kopassus]] suffered over 2,000 casualties and over 200 casualties of Australian, New Zealand and British SAS regiment. The British [[Royal Navy]] deployed a number of warships, including [[aircraft carrier]]s, to the area to defend Malaysia and the [[Royal Air Force]] also deployed many [[squadron]]s of aircraft. The British "commando carriers" [[HMS Albion (R07)|HMS ''Albion'']] and [[HMS Bulwark (R08)|''Bulwark'']] operated their squadrons of helicopters to transport Royal Marines and supplies through the jungles, the ships themselves being floating bases. <ref>[http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Borneo/JungleSquadrons.html Britain's Small Wars - Jungle squadrons]</ref> [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] ground forces— 18 [[battalion]]s, including elements of the Brigade of Gurkhas — and three Malaysian battalions, were also committed to the conflict. The Commonwealth troops were thinly deployed and had to rely on border posts and reconnaissance by [[light infantry]] and/or the two [[Special Boat Service|SBS commando]] units of the [[Royal Marines]]. Their main mission was to prevent further Indonesian incursions into Malaysia. On [[August 17]], Indonesian [[paratrooper]]s landed on the southwest coast of Johore and attempted to establish guerilla groups. On [[September 2]], more paratroopers landed in [[Labis]], Johore. On [[October 29]], 52 soldiers landed in [[Pontian]] on the Johore-Malacca border and were captured by [[New Zealand Army]] and [[Royal Malay Regiment]] personnel. Balance of paratroopers were captured by [[Royal Malaysian Police|Royal Federations Malay States]] [[General Operations Forces|Police Field Force]] personnel in Batu 20 [[Muar]], Johore. When the [[United Nations]] (UN) accepted Malaysia as a nonpermanent member at the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]], Sukarno withdrew Indonesia from the UN and attempted to form the [[Conference of New Emerging Forces]] ('''Conefo''') as an alternative. In January 1965, after many Malaysian requests, [[Australia]] agreed to send troops to Borneo. The [[Australian Army]] contingent included the [[3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment]] and the [[Special Air Service (Australia)|Australian Special Air Service]] (SAS) Regiment. There were 14,000 British and Commonwealth forces in Borneo by this time. According to official policy, Commonwealth troops could not follow attackers over the Indonesian border. However, units like the British [[Special Air Service|SAS], Australian and New Zealand SAS did so in secret (see [[Operation Claret]]). (The Australian government officially admitted these incursions in 1996.) In April 1964, the British government gave permission for troops to cross the border into Kalimantan up to 3,000 yards. In January 1965, this authorisation was extended to attacks up to 10,000 yards. There is also evidence that the British and Malaysians secretly gave aid to rebel groups in Indonesia, in the outer islands of Sumatra and [[Sulawesi]], as way to weaken Sukarno's Confrontation campaign. On [[March 10]] [[1965]], Indonesian saboteurs carried out the [[MacDonald House bombing]] in Singapore, killing three people and injuring 33. In mid-1965, the Indonesian government began to openly use Indonesian army forces. On [[June 28]], they crossed the border into eastern [[Sebatik Island]] near [[Tawau]], Sabah, and clashed with defenders. Another factor in the defeat of Confrontation was use of [[intelligence (information gathering)|intelligence]]. Britain had broken the Indonesian military and diplomatic [[cipher]]s and was able to intercept and decrypt communications from a [[Government Communications Headquarters]] (GCHQ) listening station in Singapore. This intelligence was used to plan individual Claret cross-border operations. ===British psyops=== The role of the [[United Kingdom]]'s [[Foreign Office]] and [[Secret Intelligence Service]] (MI6) has also come to light, in a series of exposés by Paul Lashmar and Oliver James in ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper beginning in 1997. These revelations have also come to light in journals on military and intelligence history. The revelations included an anonymous Foreign Office source stating that the decision to unseat President Sukarno was made by [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Harold Macmillan]] and then executed under Prime Minister [[Harold Wilson]]. According to the exposés, the UK had already become alarmed with the announcement of the "Konfrontasi" policy. It has been claimed that a [[Central Intelligence Agency]] memorandum of 1962 indicated that Macmillan and [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[John F. Kennedy]] were increasingly alarmed by the possibility of the Confrontation with Malaysia spreading, and agreed to "liquidate President Sukarno, depending on the situation and available opportunities". However, the documentary evidence cited does not support this claim. To weaken the regime, the British [[Foreign Office]]'s [[Information Research Department]] (IRD) coordinated [[psychological operations]] (psyops) in concert with the British military, to spread [[black propaganda]] casting the [[Communist Party of Indonesia]] (PKI), [[Chinese Indonesians]], and [[Sukarno]] in a bad light. These efforts were to duplicate the successes of the British psyop campaign in the [[Malayan Emergency]]. Of note, these efforts were coordinated from the British High Commission in [[Singapore]] where the [[BBC]], [[Associated Press]] (AP), and ''[[The New York Times]]'' filed their reports on the Crisis in Indonesia. According to [[Roland Challis]], the BBC correspondent who was in Singapore at the time, journalists were open to manipulation by IRD due to Sukarno's stubborn refusal to allow them into the country: "In a curious way, by keeping correspondents out of the country Sukarno made them the victims of official channels, because almost the only information you could get was from the British ambassador in Jakarta." These manipulations included the BBC reporting that communists were planning to slaughter the citizens of Jakarta. The accusation was based solely on a forgery planted by Norman Reddaway, a propaganda expert with the IRD. He later bragged in a letter to the British ambassador in Jakarta, Sir [[Andrew Gilchrist]] that it "went all over the world and back again", and was "put almost instantly back into Indonesia via the BBC". Gilchrist himself informed the Foreign Office on [[October 5]], [[1965]]: "I have never concealed from you my belief that a little shooting in Indonesia would be an essential preliminary to effective change." In the [[April 16]], [[2000]] ''Independent'', [[Denis Healey]], [[Secretary of State for Defence]] at the time of the war, confirmed that the IRD was active during this time. He officially denied any role by MI6, and denied "personal knowledge" of the British arming the right-wing faction of the Army, though he did comment that if there were such a plan, he "would certainly have supported it". Although the British [[MI6]] is strongly implicated in this scheme by the use of the Information Research Department (seen as an MI6 office), any role by MI6 itself is officially denied by the UK government, and papers relating to it have yet to be declassified by the [[Cabinet Office]]. (''The Independent'', [[December 6]], [[2000]].) ==The end of confrontation== {{Unreferencedsection|date=November 2007}} In the late-1960s, General [[Suharto]] [[Transition to the New Order|came to power in Indonesia]] and Indonesian interest in pursuing the war with Malaysia declined, and combat eased. On [[May 28]], [[1966]], at a conference in [[Bangkok]], the Malaysian and Indonesian governments declared the conflict was over. Violence ended in June, and a peace treaty was signed on [[August 11]] and ratified two days later. ==Effects of the conflict== {{Unreferencedsection|date=November 2007}} A lasting impact of the conflict is the continued suspension of local government elections in Malaysia. Mayors used to be elected into their posts prior to the confrontation. Currently however, mayors are appointed by the state government instead of being directly elected. ==References== ===General=== ;Books * van der Bijl, Nick. ''Confrontation, The War with Indonesia 1962—1966'', (London, 2007) ISBN 9781844155958 * Easter, D. 2004. ''Britain and the Confrontation with Indonesia, 1960–1966''. London, I.B.Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-623-1. * Jones, M. 2002. ''Conflict and Confrontation in South East Asia, 1961–1965: Britain, the United States and the Creation of Malaysia''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-80111-7. * Mackie, J.A.C. 1974. ''Konfrontasi: The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute 1963–1966''. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press (for the Australian Institute of International Affairs). ISBN 0-19-638247-5. * Porritt, V.L. 2004. ''The Rise and Fall of Communism in Sarawak 1940–1990''. Victoria: Monash Asia Institute. ISBN 1-876924-27-6. * Poulgrain, G. 1998. ''The Genesis of Konfrontasi: Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia 1945–1965''. London: C. Hurst & Co. ISBN 1-85065-510-3. * Subritzky, J. 2000. ''Confronting Sukarno: British, American, Australian and New Zealand Diplomacy in the Malaysian-Indonesian Confrontation, 1961–1965''. London, Palgrave. ISBN 0-312-22784-1. * Doohan, J.T. 2004. ''Mud Sweat & Tears: An account of 24 Construction Squadron Royal Australian Engineer's Borneo tour of duty 1965'' ISBN 0-646-43718-6 * Reece, R.H.W. 1993. ''The Name of Brooke: The End of White Rajah Rule in Sarawak.'' Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-580474-0 ;Academic journal articles * Easter, D. "'Keep the Indonesian pot boiling': western covert intervention in Indonesia, October 1965–March 1966", ''Cold War History'', Vol 5, No 1, February 2005. * Tuck, C. "Borneo 1963–66: Counter-insurgency Operations and War Termination", ''Small Wars and Insurgencies'', Vol 15, No 3, Winter 2004. ;Other sources * Anonymous. 1964. ''Gelora Konfrontasi Mengganjang Malaysia''. Djakarta: Departemen Penerangan. (Contains Joint Statements of the Manila Agreements, Indonesian presidential decrees and all transcripts of Sukarno's public speeches from July 1963 to May 1964 pertaining the Konfrontasi) ===Notes=== {{reflist}} ==See also== * [[British military history]] * [[Brunei Revolt]] * [[History of Brunei]] * [[History of Indonesia]] * [[History of Malaysia]] * [[Military history of New Zealand in Malaysia]] ==External links== *[http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Borneo/index.html Britain's Small Wars - Borneo] [[Category:20th century conflicts]] [[Category:Military history of Indonesia]] [[Category:Wars involving Indonesia]] [[Category:Wars involving Australia]] [[Category:Wars involving New Zealand]] [[Category:Wars involving Malaysia]] [[Category:History of Brunei]] [[Category:Military history of Singapore]] [[Category:Guided Democracy Era (Indonesia)]] [[Category:Wars involving Indonesia]] [[fr:Confrontation indonésio-malaisienne]] [[id:Konfrontasi Indonesia-Malaysia]] [[ms:Konfrontasi Indonesia-Malaysia]] [[ru:Индонезийско-малайзийская конфронтация]]