US plan to sell Indonesia a patrol boat used after 9/11 attacks sparks controversy

The 110-foot cutter Adak rescued people after the September 11 terror attacks and campaigners cited Indonesia’s terrorism troubles as a reason for not selling it the boat

Experts said Indonesia may be better off buying new vessels as retrofitting decommissioned US ships would be too expensive

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The US Coast Guard cutter Adak patrols near the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00pm, 29 Apr 2021Updated: 6:24pm, 29 Apr 2021

A US plan to sell a “historic” military patrol boat to Indonesia has prompted backlash domestically from campaigners who argue the ship belongs in a museum and not in Indonesia, which they describe as a country “plagued by radical Islamic terrorism and human rights abuses”.

The planned sale reflects Washington’s commitment to building maritime capabilities of Southeast Asian states to counter China in the region but Jakarta may be better off buying new vessels rather than decommissioned US ships, experts said.

The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency on April 2 formally informed Congress of its plan to sell Coast Guard cutters Adak and Aquidneck to Indonesia for an undisclosed price.

Adak was used in the evacuation of about 500,000 people from Lower Manhattan following the September 11 attack on New York. The 110-foot vessel was also one of the four cutters deployed to Iraq during the US-led invasion.

An image from a Facebook group set up to prevent the sale of the Adak to Indonesia. Photo: Facebook

The ships will be formally offered next month, 30 days after Congress was notified. In a statement to The New York Post, the Coast Guard said the decision to transfer the cutters to Indonesia was made “to achieve US national security interests” and it had been coordinating with the Indonesian Navy since February.

An Indonesian Navy spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comments. An official from the navy media team said he had no knowledge of the plan.

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