Pontianak, West Kalimantan (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin awarded Satyalancana Dharma Samuderato 361 Japanese personnel for their support in handling forest and land fires in Indonesia.
The military honor is awarded by the Indonesian government to Navy personnel or others who have made significant contributions to maritime affairs or humanitarian missions at sea.
The awarding ceremony took place aboard Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) ship JS Kunisaki, docking at Kijing International Port, Mempawah District, West Kalimantan, on Wednesday.
Of the 361 Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) personnel receiving the award, 92 attended the ceremony, which was also attended by Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Ueno Atsushi and delegations from both countries.
Minister Sjamsoeddin said the award was a form of appreciation from the Indonesian government for the contribution of Japanese personnel in supporting humanitarian efforts to combat forest and land fires.
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According to him, Japan’s support for tackling forest and land fires in Indonesia is a concrete manifestation of the bilateral relationship and defense cooperation between Indonesia and Japan, including the implementation of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA).
Sjamsoeddin addressed defense cooperation between the two countries extends beyond dialogue and military exercises to include humanitarian assistance when communities face disasters.
In handling the forest and land fires, Japan deployed CH-47 Chinook helicopters integrated with the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Task Force operations to assist the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
According to the latest BNPB data, as of September 29, the area of land still affected by fires in the six priority provinces for forest and land fire management was recorded at 96.07 hectares, down from 158.36 hectares the previous day.
Of the total 527.6 hectares of burned land recorded in this update, 431.53 hectares have been successfully extinguished. The six priority provinces include Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan.
The BNPB is still optimising ground and air operations with the support of 56 aircraft, consisting of 13 units for patrols and weather modification operations and 43 units for water bombing.
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Translator: Rendra Oxtora, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Fransiska Ninditya
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