The Navys West Maritime Security Cluster Commander, Harjo Susmoro, said here on Monday that these ships were dispatched after the Malaysian Navy requested assistance.
"We have sent out five ships from the maritime security cluster and the battle cluster to assist Malaysia," Harjo stated.
He said Indonesia was quick to come to Malaysias aid and that these two ships had been patrolling the Malaka Strait since March 9. Harjo added that they were eventually given permission to enter Malaysian waters on Monday at 12:30 a.m. Indonesian Western Time.
Incidentally, there were seven Indonesian nationals on board the ill-fated plane.
Malaysia has divided the area into 10 sectors in its bid to search for MH370. These are from A to J and extend 280 degrees from Penang Island to 80 nautical miles into the sea. While Kraig was assigned to sector D, Mata Cora was in sector F.
Of the other three ships, Sutanto will be in sector J, Tarihu in sector E and Iribva in sector C.
The Indonesian Navy has also sent a plane, Casa Umar 621, to assist in the search operations. However, Harjo noted that these search teams had not yet found anything. "We still have nothing," he stressed.
In addition to the Indonesian military, the Thai and Vietnamese military have also been assisting Malaysia in this regard.
Meanwhile, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has delivered a message to the joint search team of several ASEAN member states. "Hopefully, this will drive the momentum to prioritizing equality, peace and cooperation for humanitarian missions in the South China Sea region," he said in Jakarta on Monday.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
