Three Ministries Visit East Nusa Tenggara to Discuss Indonesia-Timor Leste Border

Commander of the 161/Wirasakti Military Regional Command, Brigadier General Hendro Cahyono (second left), answers questions from journalists in Kupang, Tuesday. ANTARA/Kornelis Kaha

KUPANG - Brigadier General Hendro Cahyono, Commander of the 161/Wira Sakti Military Regional Command (Korem 161/Wira Sakti), stated that representatives from three ministries are scheduled to visit East Nusa Tenggara next week to discuss the border conflict in Inbate Village, North Central Timor Regency, which resulted in the shooting of a resident.

"The border issue in Inbate Village is being handled by the ministry. A team from Jakarta will come to NTT next week. They called me, and I told them to meet at the location," he told reporters in Kupang, Antara News Agency reported on Tuesday, September 2.

The Danrem made this statement when asked about the developments in the shooting of an Inbate resident, allegedly carried out by police officers from Timor Leste (UPF). He declined to specify which ministry would be visiting.

He said that following the incident at the border, his office immediately reported it to the central government for further processing.

"I will provide further updates to my colleagues," he said.

Hendro, who received a promotion about a week ago, explained that the incident actually occurred due to differing perceptions regarding the border.

This is because the Timorese people installed boundary markers in accordance with measurements conducted by the provincial government. However, according to an international ruling, the disputed markers fall within Indonesian territory.

Furthermore, he continued, the clash would not have occurred if there had been coordination from Timor Leste with the task force to assist with security during the marker installation.

"So, there was security previously provided by the RI-RDTL Border Security Task Force when markers were installed along one of the border lines. However, there was no coordination at the disputed location, which led to the clash," he said.

According to the Danrem, if there had been coordination from the start, the Timor Leste police would have joined the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) at the border to monitor the situation and prevent any clashes.

"The shooting is currently under investigation, and we have sent the ammunition to the central government for further examination," he said.