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UPANG: The Indonesian border zone with Timor Leste, which was previously closed to the media, will be opened to journalists, a military commander says.

“The TNI [Indonesian Military] have done many positive things in the border zone but they do not get enough public exposure because of the limited media access,” Military Resort 161 Wirasakti Kupang Commander Col. Inf. Edison Napitupulu told reporters in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Monday.

However, he said the number of troops, locations of military posts and information about military patrols would remain secret.

He also invited journalists to take a tour of the outermost islands in the province to observe troop activities there.

“We have two outlying islands in NTT, one that borders Timor Leste and the other borders Australia,” he said, adding that on these islands the soldiers had to climb tall trees to get cellular phone signal to communicate with their families. — JP