'€œConditions in Surabaya are normal. The security level has not been raised to alert following the issuance of a warning from the US Embassy in Jakarta,'€ he told The Jakarta Post in Surabaya on Monday.

The US Embassy issued a warning on Sunday to Americans about a potential threat against US-associated banks and hotels in Surabaya. An embassy spokesperson said, however, there was nothing linking the warning with AirAsia flight QZ8501, which crashed into the waters of the Karimata Strait in Kalimantan on Dec.28.

Sutarman said the police were still discussing the warning with the US Embassy and that they would explore whether the warning was linked to the recent AirAsia accident or connected to any other potential threats.

Based on US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data, Indonesia is among countries that have failed to guarantee air safety. Indonesia ranked at the same level as Bangladesh, Curaçao, India, Nicaragua and Uruguay.

Meanwhile, neighboring countries such as Laos and Myanmar, which in fact have dealt with chronic air-safety problems, ranked higher than Indonesia.

Some say Indonesia'€™s poor air safety records warranted the bans placed against 62 Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe by EU member countries.

East Java Police chief Insp.Gen.Anas Yusuf said he had not received an official warning from the US Embassy to Americans in Surabaya.

'€œ[...] I just heard about it from news reports in a number of media outlets,'€ he said, adding the police were preparing for any potential security threats by readying their personnel in areas frequently visited by Americans.

Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini said activities in Surabaya would not be disrupted on account of the issuance of the warning.

'€œI'€™m sure nothing will happen,'€ she said. (ebf)(+++)

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