The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation or Borneo confrontation (known as in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) was an armed conflict from 1963 to 1966 that stemmed from Indonesia's opposition to the creation of the state of Malaysia. Vital precursors to the conflict included Indonesia's policy of confrontation against Dutch New Guinea from March to August 1962 and the Indonesia-backed Brunei revolt in December 1962. Malaysia had direct military support from the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Indonesia had indirect support from the USSR and China, thus making it an episode of the Cold War in Asia.
The conflict was an undeclared war with most of the action occurring in the border area between Indonesia and East Malaysia on the island of Borneo (known as Kalimantan in Indonesia), with lower intensity covert actions conducted by Indonesia on the Malay Peninsula and in Singapore. The conflict was characterised by restrained and isolated ground combat, set within tactics of low-level brinkmanship. Combat was usually conducted by company- or platoon-sized operations on either side of the border. Indonesia's campaign of infiltrations into Borneo sought to exploit how ethnically and religiously diverse Sabah and Sarawak were compared to that of Malaya and Singapore, with the intent of unravelling the proposed state of Malaysia.
The jungle terrain of Borneo and the lack of roads straddling the Indonesia–Malaysia border forced both Indonesian and Commonwealth forces to conduct long foot patrols. Both sides relied on light infantry operations and air transport, although Commonwealth forces enjoyed the advantage of better helicopter deployment and resupply to forward operating bases. Rivers were also used as a method of transport and infiltration. Although combat operations were primarily conducted by ground forces, airborne forces played a vital support role and naval forces ensured the security of the sea flanks. The British provided most of the defensive effort, although Malaysian forces steadily increased their contributions, and there were periodic contributions from Australian and New Zealand forces within the combined Far East Strategic Reserve stationed then in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.
Initially, Indonesian attacks on East Malaysia relied heavily on local volunteers trained by the Indonesian Army. Over time, the infiltration forces became more organised with the inclusion of a more substantial component of Indonesian forces. To deter and disrupt Indonesia's growing campaign of infiltrations, the British responded in 1964 by launching their own covert operations into Indonesian Kalimantan under the code name Operation Claret. Claret was successful in gaining the initiative for the British Commonwealth forces, keeping the Indonesians on the defensive. Coinciding with Sukarno announcing a 'year of dangerous living' and the 1964 race riots in Singapore, Indonesia launched an expanded campaign of operations into Peninsular Malaysia on 17 August 1964, albeit without military success. A build-up of Indonesian forces on the Kalimantan border in December 1964 saw the UK commit significant forces from the UK-based Army Strategic Command. Australia and New Zealand deployed roulement combat forces from Peninsular Malaysia to Borneo in 1965–66. The intensity of the conflict began to subside following the coup d'état of October 1965 and Sukarno's loss of power to General Suharto. A round of serious peace negotiations between the two sides began in May 1966, and a final peace agreement was signed on 11 August 1966 with Indonesia formally recognising Malaysia.
Background
Political situation
Before Konfrontasi, Sukarno sought to develop an independent Indonesian foreign policy, focused on the annexation of Dutch New Guinea as a conclusion of the Indonesian National Revolution, and establishing Indonesia's credentials as a notable international power supporting its own agenda distinct from those of the First and Second World. Indonesia was an important country in developing the Non-Aligned Movement, hosting the Bandung Conference in 1955. Indonesia had relentlessly pursued its claim to Dutch New Guinea from 1950 to 1962, despite facing multiple setbacks in the UN General Assembly in getting its claim recognised by the international community.
Following the Indonesian crisis in 1958, which had included the Permesta rebellion in eastern Indonesia and the declaration of the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia, Indonesia had emerged as a notable and rising military power in Southeast Asia. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), primarily through its Taiwan-based subsidiary Civil Air Transport (CAT), had been covertly providing support to rebels on remote islands, seeking to weaken, if not outright oust President Sukarno's regime. Beginning in 1957, the CIA was increasing contact with military leaders in Sumatra and Sulawesi critical of the regime. By late 1957, the transport of weapons and ammunition to Sumatra by merchant ships and night submarines had become increasingly common, but the Americans believed that for their clandestine assistance to be truly effective, such operations required the use of British facilities in Singapore to refuel and support CAT missions launched in Bangkok, Taiwan, or the Philippines.
With the influx of Soviet arms aid, Indonesia was able to advance its claim to Dutch New Guinea more forcefully. The diplomatic dispute reached its climax in 1962 when Indonesia launched a substantial campaign of airborne and seaborne infiltrations into Dutch New Guinea. While the infiltration forces were soundly defeated by Dutch and Papuan forces, Indonesia was able to lend credence to the threat of an Indonesian invasion of Dutch New Guinea. The Dutch, facing mounting diplomatic pressure from the Indonesians, and also the Americans, who were anxious to keep Indonesia from becoming Communist aligned, yielded and agreed to a diplomatic compromise, allowing the Indonesians to gain control of the territory in exchange for pledging to hold a self-determination plebiscite (the Act of Free Choice) in the territory by 1969. Thus by the close of 1962, Indonesia had achieved a considerable diplomatic victory, which possibly emboldened its self-perception as a notable regional power. It was in the context of this recent diplomatic victory that Indonesia cast its attention to the British proposal for a unified Malaysian state.
Before the British government announced the East of Suez policy in 1968, it had already begun re-evaluating their commitment to maintaining a presence in the Far East as early as the late-1950s. As a part of its withdrawal from its Southeast Asian colonies, the UK moved to combine its colonies in North Borneo with the Federation of Malaya (which had become independent from Britain in 1957), and Singapore (which had become self-governing in 1959). In May 1961, the UK and Malayan governments proposed a larger federation called Malaysia, encompassing the states of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, Brunei, and Singapore. Initially, Indonesia was mildly supportive of the proposed federation, although the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) was firmly opposed to it.
In Brunei, it was unclear whether Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III would support Brunei joining the proposed Malaysian state because of the implied reduction of his political office, and Brunei's oil revenues ensured Brunei's financial viability were it to choose independence. Furthermore, a Brunei politician, Dr. AM Azahari bin Sheikh Mahmud, while supporting a unified North Borneo, also opposed a wider Malaysian federation. In 1961, he had sounded out Indonesia about possible aid in training Borneo recruits; General Abdul Nasution hinted at moral support, and Soebandrio, the Indonesian foreign minister and head of intelligence, hinted at supplying more substantial aid. Azahari was a leftist who had fought in Indonesia in their war for independence. Following these meetings, Indonesia began training a small volunteer force called the North Kalimantan National Army (TNKU) in Kalimantan.
On 8 December 1962, the TNKU staged an insurrection—the Brunei revolt. The insurrection was an abject failure, as the poorly trained and equipped forces were unable to capture key objectives such as the Sultan of Brunei, the Brunei oil fields, or European hostages. Within hours of the insurrection being launched, British forces based in Singapore were mobilised for a prompt response. The failure of the insurrection was evident within 30 hours when Gurkha troops airlifted from Singapore secured Brunei town and ensured the Sultan's safety.
The degree of Indonesian support for the TNKU remains a subject of debate. While Indonesia at the time denied direct involvement, it did sympathise with the TNKU's objectives to destabilise the proposed Malaysian state. Following the TNKU's military setback in Brunei, on 20 January 1963 Indonesian Foreign Minister Subandrio announced that Indonesia would pursue a policy of Konfrontasi with Malaysia, reversing Indonesia's previous policy of compliance with the British proposal. This was followed by the first recorded infiltration of Indonesian forces on 12 April 1963 when a police station in Tebedu, Sarawak, was attacked.
People and terrain
thumb|Borneo after cessation of hostilities; divided between Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. The control of the island was the main issue behind the war.
In 1961, the island of Borneo was divided between four separate entities. Kalimantan, comprising four Indonesian provinces, was located in the south of the island. In the north, were the Sultanate of Brunei (a British protectorate) and two colonies of the United Kingdom—British North Borneo (later renamed Sabah) and Sarawak. The three British territories totalled some 1.5 million people, about half of them Dayaks. Sarawak had a population of about 900,000, Sabah's was 600,000 and Brunei's was around 80,000. Among Sarawak's non-Dayak population, 31% were Chinese, and 19% were Malay. Among non-Dayaks in Sabah, 21% were Chinese, and 7% were Malay; Brunei's non-Dayak population was 28% Chinese and 54% Malay. There was a large Indonesian population in Tawau in southern Sabah and a large and economically active Chinese one in Sarawak. Despite their population size, Dayaks were spread through the country in village longhouses and were not politically organised.
Sarawak was divided into five administrative divisions. Sabah, whose capital city was Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu) on the north coast, was divided into several residencies; those of the interior and Tawau were on the border. Apart from either end, the border with Indonesia generally followed a ridgeline throughout its length, rising to almost 2,500 metres in the Fifth Division. In the First Division, there were some roads, including a continuous road from Kuching to Brunei and around to Sandakan on the east coast of Sabah. There were no roads in the Fourth and Fifth Divisions or the Interior Residency, and in Third Division, there was only the coast road, which was some 150 miles from the border. Mapping was generally poor, as British maps of the country only showed tiny topographic detail. Indonesian maps were worse; veterans recall "a single black and white sheet for all of Kalimantan torn from a school textbook" in 1964.
Kalimantan was divided into four provinces, of which East Kalimantan and West Kalimantan bordered British Borneo. The capital of the West Kalimantan is Pontianak on the west coast, about from the border, and the capital of East Kalimantan is Samarinda on the south coast, some from the border. There were no roads in the border area other than some in the west, and no road existed linking East and West Kalimantan. The lack of roads and tracks suitable for vehicles on both sides of the border meant that movement was limited to foot tracks mostly unmarked on any map, as well as water and air movement. There were many large rivers on both sides of the border, and these were the primary means of movement. There were also quite a few small grass airstrips suitable for light aircraft, as dropping zones for parachuted supplies, and helicopters.
The equator lies about south of Kuching, and most of northern Borneo receives over of rain each year. Borneo is naturally covered by tropical rainforests. This covers the mountainous areas cut by many rivers with very steep-sided hills and hilltop ridges often only a few metres wide. The high rainfall means large rivers; these provide a principal means of transport and are formidable tactical obstacles. Dense mangrove forest covering vast tidal flats intersected with numerous creeks is a feature of many coastal areas, including Brunei and either end of the border. There are cultivated areas in valleys and around villages. In the vicinity of abandoned and current settlements are areas of dense secondary regrowth.
Sarawakian opposition
In 1946 the Raj of Sarawak, Charles Vyner Brooke ceded the state to the British Crown believing it to be in the best interest of the people of Sarawak following the end of World War II. Sarawak became a Crown colony, ruled from the Colonial Office in London, which in turn dispatched a governor for Sarawak. The predominantly Malay anti-cession movement, which rejected the British takeover of Sarawak and had assassinated Duncan Stewart, the first British High Commissioner of Sarawak, may have been the forerunner of the subsequent anti-Malaysia movement in Sarawak, headed by Ahmad Zaidi Adruce.
According to Vernon L. Porritt and Hong-Kah Fong, left-wing and communist cells had been present among Sarawak's urban Chinese communities since the 1930s and 1940s. Some of the earliest Communist groups in Sabah included the Anti-Fascist League, which later became the Races Liberation Army, and the Borneo Anti-Japanese League, which was made up of the North Borneo Anti-Japanese League and the West Borneo Anti-Japanese League. The latter was led by Wu Chan, who was deported by the Sarawak colonial government to China in 1952. Other Communist groups in Sarawak included the Overseas Chinese Youth Association, which was formed in 1946, and the Liberation League along with its youth wing, the Advanced Youth Association, which emerged during the 1950s. These organisations became the nuclei for two Communist guerrilla movements: the anti-Malaysia North Kalimantan People's Army (PARAKU) and the Sarawak People's Guerrillas (PGRS). These various Communist groups were designated by various British and other Western sources as the Clandestine Communist Organisation (CCO) or the Sarawak Communist Organisation (SCO).
thumb|Members of the Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force (SPGF), North Kalimantan National Army (NKNA) and [[Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) taking photograph together marking the close relations between them during Indonesia under the rule of Sukarno.|left]]
The SCO was predominantly dominated by ethnic Chinese but also included Dayak supporters. However, the SCO had little support from ethnic Malays and other indigenous Sarawak peoples. At its height, the SCO had 24,000 members. During the 1940s and 1950s, Maoism had spread among Chinese vernacular schools in Sarawak. Following World War II, Communist influence also penetrated the labour movement and the predominantly Chinese Sarawak United People's Party, the state's first political party, which was founded in June 1959. The Sarawak Insurgency began after the Brunei Revolt in 1962 and the SCO would fight alongside the Bruneian rebels and Indonesian forces during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation.
The SCO and the Bruneian rebels supported and propagated the unification of all British Borneo territories to form an independent leftist North Kalimantan state. This idea was originally proposed by A. M. Azahari, leader of the Parti Rakyat Brunei (Brunei People's Party), who had forged links with Sukarno's nationalist movement, together with Ahmad Zaidi, in Java in the 1940s. However, the Brunei People's Party was in favour of joining Malaysia on the condition it was unified with the three territories of northern Borneo with their own sultan, and hence was strong enough to resist domination by Malaya, Singapore, Malay administrators or Chinese merchants.
The North Kalimantan (or Kalimantan Utara) proposal was seen as a post-decolonisation alternative by local opposition against the Malaysia plan. Local opposition throughout the Borneo territories was primarily based on economic, political, historical and cultural differences between the Borneo states and Malaya, as well as the refusal to be subjected under peninsular political domination. Both Azahari and Zaidi went into exile in Indonesia during the confrontation. While the latter returned to Sarawak and had his political status rehabilitated, Azahari remained in Indonesia until his death on 3 September 2002.
In the aftermath of the Brunei Revolt, the remnants of the TNKU reached Indonesia. Possibly fearing British reprisals (which never came), many Chinese communists, possibly several thousand, also fled Sarawak. Their compatriots remaining in Sarawak were known as the CCO by the UK but called the PGRS—Pasukan Gelilya Rakyat Sarawak (Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force) by Indonesia. Soebandrio met with a group of their potential leaders in Bogor, and Nasution sent three trainers from Resimen Para Komando Angkatan Darat (RPKAD) Battalion 2 to Nangabadan near the Sarawak border, where there were about 300 trainees. Some three months later, two lieutenants were sent there. The PGRS numbered about 800, based in West Kalimantan at Batu Hitam, with a contingent of 120 from the Indonesian intelligence agency and a small cadre trained in China. The PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) was firmly in evidence and led by an ethnic Arab revolutionary, Sofyan. The PGRS ran some raids into Sarawak but spent more time developing their supporters in Sarawak. The Indonesian military did not approve of the leftist nature of the PGRS and generally avoided them.
Conflict
Beginning of hostilities
left|thumb|upright=.75|[[Sukarno]]
thumb|Extracts from President Sukarno's Speech at the Indonesian Revolution Anniversary in 1963|left
Sukarno's motives for beginning the confrontation are contested. Former Indonesian Foreign Minister Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung argued years later that Sukarno intentionally muted Indonesia's opposition to the proposed Malaysian state while Indonesia was preoccupied with advancing its claim to West New Guinea. Following Indonesia's diplomatic victory in the West New Guinea dispute, Sukarno may have been emboldened to extend Indonesia's dominance over its weaker neighbours. Conversely, Sukarno may have felt compelled by the ongoing pressure of the PKI and the general instability of Indonesian politics to divert attention towards a new foreign conflict.
In the late 1950s, Sukarno argued that Malaysia was a British puppet state, a neo-colonial experiment and that any expansion of Malaysia would increase British control over the region, with implications for Indonesia's national security. Sukarno strongly opposed the British decolonisation initiative involving the formation of the Federation of Malaysia that would comprise the Malay Peninsula and British Borneo. Sukarno accused Malaysia of being a British puppet state aimed at establishing neo-imperialism and neo-colonialism in Southeast Asia, and also at containing Indonesian ambition to be the regional hegemonic power.
It was also suggested that Sukarno's campaign against the formation of Malaysia was motivated by a desire to separate Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore as a separate country, hence not submitting to the British proposal for decolonization calling it as neocolonialism done by the British state as a way of spreading British hegemony in the region. Similarly, the Philippines claimed eastern North Borneo, arguing that the Borneo colony had historical links with the Philippines through the Sultanate of Sulu.
However, while Sukarno made no direct claims to incorporate northern Borneo into Indonesian Kalimantan, he saw the formation of Malaysia as an obstacle to the Maphilindo, a non-political, irredentist union spanning Malaya, Philippines and Indonesia. President of the Philippines Diosdado Macapagal initially did not oppose the concept and even initiated the Manila Accord. While the Philippines did not engage in hostilities, it did defer recognising Malaysia as the successor state to Malaya. Consequently, Malaysia severed diplomatic ties with the Philippines. Indonesia argued that the establishment of Malaysia allowed the United Kingdom to maintain their unique privileges regarding the use of the Singapore base and keep close ties to British defense needs in Southeast Asia constituted an implied threat. Subandrio, the Indonesian foreign minister, was careful to explain to American ambassador Howard P. Jones that the confrontation policy was concerned with Malaya not Malaysia and was a reaction to Malayan and British anti-Djakarta, pro-rebel activity in 1958, and promotion of program to split off Sumatra as diplomatic efforts to settle the Malaysian dispute picked up steam in the summer of 1963 through ministerial and summit level talks in Manila. This was implemented to preserve an already exhausted army which had recently conducted Operation Trikora in Western New Guinea, while also maintaining its political position in Indonesian politics, especially against the Communist Party of Indonesia, the ardent supporters of the confrontation.
Expansion of the conflict to the Malaysian Peninsula
thumb|right|[[Sarawak Rangers (subsequently part of Malaysian Rangers) comprising Ibans leap from a Royal Australian Air Force Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter to guard the Malay–Thai border.]]
On 3 May 1964, amid ongoing hostilities, Sukarno proclaimed the People's Dual Command or Dwi Komando Rakyat (Dwikora). The Dwikora contained Sukarno's call to defend the Indonesian Revolution and support revolutions in Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah to destroy Malaysia. Co-ordinated to coincide with Sukarno's announcement of the 'Year of Living Dangerously' during Indonesian Independence Day celebrations, Indonesian forces began a campaign of airborne and seaborne infiltrations of the Malaysian Peninsula on 17 August 1964. On 17 August 1964, a seaborne force of about 100, composed of air force Rapid Response Troop (, PGT) paratroopers, KKO and about a dozen Malaysian communists, crossed the Strait of Malacca by boat, landing at Pontian in three parties in the night. Instead of being greeted as liberators, however, they were contained by various Commonwealth forces, and all but four of the infiltrators were captured within a few days.
On 2 September, three Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft set off from Jakarta for Peninsular Malaysia, flying low to avoid detection by radar. The following night, two of the C-130 reached their objective with their onboard PGT paratroopers, who jumped off and landed around Labis in Johor (about north of Singapore). The remaining C-130 crashed into the Strait of Malacca while trying to evade interception by an RAF Javelin FAW 9 launched from RAF Tengah. Due to a lightning storm, the drop of 96 paratroopers was widely dispersed. This resulted in them landing close to 1/10 Gurkhas, who were joined by 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (1 RNZIR) stationed near Malacca with 28 (Commonwealth) Brigade. Operations were commanded by four Malaysian Brigade, but it took a month for the security forces to capture or kill 90 of the 96 paratroopers, with two men killed during the action.
thumb|Emergency proclamation issued by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 3 September 1964.
On 3 September, following the Labis attack, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, on the advice of the Malaysian cabinet, declared a state of emergency throughout the country, with the intention to enable speedy trial and invoke the death penalty for captured invaders. The emergency proclamation was endorsed by the House of Representatives and Senate of the Malaysian parliament on 10 September and 11 September respectively, which was immediately followed by the passage of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Act 1964 in the two chambers. in many battalions a platoon of "chosen men". In Borneo, mortars were usually distributed to rifle companies, and some battalions operated the rest of their support company as another rifle company.
The basic activity was platoon patrolling; this continued throughout the campaign, with patrols being deployed by helicopter, roping in and out as necessary. Movement was usually single file; the leading section rotated but was organised with two lead scouts, followed by its commander and then the remainder in a fire support group. Battle drills for "contact front" (or rear), or "ambush left" (or right) were highly developed. Poor maps meant navigation was important; however, the local knowledge of the Border Scouts in Borneo compensated for the poor maps. So tracks were sometimes used unless ambush was considered possible, or there was the possibility of mines. Crossing obstacles such as rivers was also handled as a battle drill. At night, a platoon harboured in a tight position with all-round defence.
Contact while moving was always possible. However, offensive action usually took two forms: either an attack on a camp or an ambush. The tactic for dealing with a camp was to get a party behind it then charge the front. However, ambushes were probably the most effective tactic and could be sustained for many days. They targeted tracks and, particularly in parts of Borneo, waterways. Track ambushes were close range, , with a killing zone typically long, depending on the expected strength of the target. The trick was to remain undetected when the target entered the ambush area and then open fire all together.
Fire support was limited for the first half of the campaign. A commando light battery with 105 mm Pack Howitzers had deployed to Brunei at the beginning of 1963 but returned to Singapore after a few months when the mopping-up of the Brunei Revolt ended. Despite the escalation in Indonesian attacks after the formation of Malaysia, little need was seen for fire support: the limited range of the guns (), the limited availability of helicopters and the size of the country meant that having artillery in the right place at the right time was a challenge. However, a battery from one of the two regiments stationed in Malaysia returned to Borneo in early to mid-1964. These batteries rotated until the end of the confrontation. In early 1965, a complete UK-based regiment arrived. The short-range and substantial weight of the 3-inch mortars meant they were of minimal use.
thumb|1966 [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC report discussing the Indonesian political context of Konfrontasi.]]
Artillery had to adopt new tactics. Almost all guns were deployed in single gun sections within a company or platoon base. The sections were commanded by one of the battery's junior officers, warrant officers or sergeants. Sections had about ten men and did their own technical fire control. They were moved underslung by Wessex or Belvedere helicopters as necessary to deal with incursions or support operations. Forward observers were in short supply, but it seems that they always accompanied normal infantry Claret operations and occasionally special forces ones. However, artillery observers rarely accompanied patrols inside Sabah and Sarawak unless they were in pursuit of a known incursion and guns were in range. Observation parties were almost always led by an officer and were only two or three men strong.
Communications were a problem; radios were not used within platoons, only rearwards. Ranges were invariably beyond the capability of manpack VHF radios (A41 and A42, copies of AN/PRC 9 and 10), although the use of relay or rebroadcast stations helped where they were tactically possible. Patrol bases could use the World War II vintage HF No 62 Set (distinguished by having its control panel labelled in English and Russian). Until the manpack A13 arrived in 1966, the only lightweight HF set was the Australian A510, which did not provide voice, only Morse code.
British psychological operations
thumb|[[Anti-Indonesian sentiment|Anti-Indonesian infiltration into Malaysia demonstration by a group of Malay women in 1965. The banner reads "Our womenfolk are ready to defend Malaysia. Long live Tengku! Destroy Sukarno!"]]
The revelations included an anonymous Foreign Office source stating that the decision to unseat President Sukarno was made by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and then executed under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. According to the exposés, the UK had already become alarmed with the announcement of the "Konfrontasi" policy. It has been claimed that a Central Intelligence Agency memorandum of 1962 indicated that Macmillan and US President John F. Kennedy were increasingly alarmed by the possibility of the confrontation with Malaysia spreading, and agreed to "liquidate President Sukarno, depending on the situation and available opportunities".
thumb|[[Anti-Malay sentiment|Anti-Malay and Anti-British involvement in North Borneo demonstration by a group of Pemuda in 1965, organized by the Communist Party of Indonesia. The banner reads "Seize British capital! Hang that Tengku Abdul Rahman!"|left]]
The role of the United Kingdom's Foreign Office and MI6 during the confrontation was brought to light in a series of exposés by Paul Lashmar and Oliver James in The Independent beginning in 1997 and has also been covered in journals on military and intelligence history.
To weaken the regime, the UK Foreign Office's Information Research Department (IRD) coordinated psychological operations (psyops) in concert with the British military, to spread black propaganda casting the PKI, Chinese Indonesians, and Sukarno in a bad light. These efforts were to duplicate the successes of the British psyop campaign in the Malayan Emergency.
These efforts were coordinated from the British High Commission in Singapore, where the BBC, Associated Press, and The New York Times filed their reports on the crisis in Indonesia. According to Roland Challis, the BBC correspondent who was in Singapore at the time, journalists were open to manipulation by the IRD due to Sukarno's refusal to allow them into the country: "In a curious way, by keeping correspondents out of the country Sukarno made them the victims of official channels, because almost the only information you could get was from the British ambassador in Jakarta." Although MI6 was strongly implicated in this scheme by the use of the IRD (seen as an MI6 office), any role by MI6 itself is officially denied by the UK government, and papers relating to it have yet to be declassified by the Cabinet Office.