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Navy chief sacks commanding officer involved in Indonesian incursions
The Guardian (Australia) - April 17, 2014
Vice Admiral Ray Griggs announced on Thursday that one commanding officer would be removed from command and another would be administratively sanctioned in relation to a series of incursions into Indonesian waters that occurred in December and January.
"Each of the commanding officers conducted these activities with the best of intent; however, I expect nothing but the highest standards of those in command," Griggs said.
"These actions are not punitive in nature but are aimed solely at upholding the professional standards that the Royal Australian Navy is renowned for and that are necessary for it to undertake its mission."
The announcement came on the same day Guardian Australia revealed that one of the Australian customs vessels involved in the incursions went far deeper into Indonesian waters than had previously been disclosed. It is not known whether the sackings are connected to Guardian Australia's revelations.
The Ocean Protector entered Indonesia's internal waters – it reached 9km inside the country's territorial seas and was just 27km from Indonesia's shore – on 14 January in Pelabuhan Ratu bay, according to a digital navigational map from the vessel, seen by Guardian Australia and published here.
Archipelagic states have territorial waters that extend 12 nautical miles from a state's baselines. The water inside those baselines is described as a state's internal waters. The digital map Guardian Australia has published shows, based on historical data, the ship crossing a red line that marks the baseline across the bay.
The redacted version of the classified report of the review into the incursions, obtained by the Australian Associated Press under freedom of information laws, said: "Entry to Indonesian waters was inadvertent, arising from miscalculation of the maritime boundaries, in that the calculation did not take into account archipelagic baselines."
Crucially, the report adds: "Territorial seas declared by foreign nations are generally not depicted on Australian hydrographic charts."
But the digital map from the vessel casts doubt on these findings and clearly shows the Australian ship crossing the baseline and entering Indonesia's internal waters past the headlands of Pelabuhan Ratu bay. Indonesia's territorial seas are 12 nautical miles further out from where the baseline is marked in red. It is not known whether the digital mapping device was operational at the time the Ocean Protector entered Indonesian waters.
A spokesman for Australian Customs and Border Protection said: "No evidence presented to the review indicated officers on the ACV Ocean Protector knew the correct location of archipelagic baselines. The review found substantial evidence indicating that the calculations used by the crews to determine the position of Indonesian archipelagic baselines were incorrect.
"The review recommended further, more detailed investigations be undertaken including into professional conduct. These investigations are currently under way. As a consequence it would be inappropriate to respond to the questions forwarded."
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