T

he Indonesian Foreign Ministry denied Sunday allegations that the interception of a Papua New Guinea (PNG) jet by two Air Force fighters had been caused by faulty coordination between the ministry and the Indonesian Military (TNI).

“Our coordination system is good. That was not where the problem was,” ministry spokesman Michael Tene told The Jakarta Post.

Defense expert Andi Widjajanto suggested on Saturday it was likely that the ministry had passed on mistaken data linked to a VVIP flight path that the PNG Falcon was taking, which led to the Air Force intercepting the aircraft.

“Aircraft are only permitted to fly [in Indonesian airspace] if they have permission from three institutions: the Air Transportation Directorate General, the TNI Headquarters and the Foreign Ministry,” Tene said over the phone.

He said any information would not be sent to the National Air Defense Command (Kohanudnas), which monitors aircraft movement, unless it had been cleared by the three institutions. “We also use an online system, which means that all data are the same,” he said.

Tene said that the PNG aircraft flight had been granted permission to fly in Indonesian airspace, but for a different time.

His explanation was backed up by that of Air Force spokesman Commodore Azman Yunus.

“The plane’s flight permit had expired. The permit given was for Aug. 19 through Sept. 1, 2011,” he said.

He said that the only data that the Air Force received was from its radar when it detected a stray aircraft passing through Indonesian airspace from Malaysia to PNG on Nov. 29.

Azman also defended the Air Force’s move to pursue the aircraft, saying that everything had been done in accordance with existing procedures.