The Battle of Arafura Sea ( id, Pertempuran Laut Aru), also known as the Battle of Vlakke Hoek ( nl, 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 Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The battle stopped an attempt by the Indonesian Navy to land 150 soldiers in Kaimana in

Dutch New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kin ...

for sabotage and to incite the local population against the Dutch government. Commodore

Yos Sudarso Commodore Yosaphat "Yos" Sudarso (24 November 1925 – 15 January 1962) was an Indonesian naval officer killed at the Battle of Arafura Sea. At the time of his death, Yos Sudarso was deputy chief of staff of the Indonesian Navy and in charge ...

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 In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

HNLMS ''Evertsen'' then joined the scene and sank RI ''Matjan Tutul'', commanded by Sudarso. The other two ships, RI ''Matjan Kumbang'' and RI ''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.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) The Indonesian action itself was an abject failure and General Nasution even refused to relay the bad news to President

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

, forcing Colonel Murshid to do this in person. However, the small battle was partially responsible for the subsequent involvement of the Soviet Union and United States in the

Western New Guinea dispute The West New Guinea dispute (1950–1962), also known as the West Irian dispute, was a diplomatic and political conflict between the Netherlands and Indonesia over the territory of Dutch New Guinea. While the Netherlands had ceded sovereignty ov ...

, and it is honored in Indonesia by "Oceanic Duty Day" (''Hari

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

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 RI ''Harimau'' was made into a monument at the Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.

References

External links

The Dutch New Guinea Dispute - Operation Trikora 1961-1962

The Dutch New Guinea Dispute 1949-1962
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arafura Sea 1962 in Indonesia Naval battles involving the Netherlands Naval battles post-1945 Battles involving Indonesia Conflicts in 1962 Netherlands New Guinea Indonesia–Netherlands relations January 1962 events in Asia

References

Further reading

External links