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 The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea. Geography The Arafura Sea is ...

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

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 Guine ...

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 Kaimana is a small port town in West Papua, Indonesia and capital of the Kaimana Regency. It had a population of 13,613 at the 2010 Census. In March 2007, the Indonesian Navy conducted a training exercise off the coast of Kaimana in Kaimana Ba ...

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 Kingdo ...

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 The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a po ...

in the middle of the night but were intercepted near the New Guinea coast by a Dutch

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

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 in ...

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 General of the Army Abdul Haris Nasution ( Old Spelling: Abdoel Haris Nasution; 3 December 1918 – 6 September 2000), was a high-ranking Indonesian general and politician. He served in the military during the Indonesian National Revolution a ...

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 The Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum, is a history museum specialized on the life of Suharto, the former second president of Indonesia and a powerful political figure in modern Indonesian history. It is located in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII), Jak ...

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah Taman Mini "Indonesia Indah" (literally ''"Beautiful Indonesia" Mini Park''—the apostrophes are in the name—abbreviated as TMII) is a culture-based recreational area located in East Jakarta, Indonesia. Since July 2021, it is operated by the G ...

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