Indonesia rejects US air patrols on the island

Indonesia has rejected a proposal by the United States to allow its P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance planes to land and refuel there, according to four senior Indonesian officials familiar with the matter.

US officials made multiple “high-level” approaches in July and August to Indonesia’s defense and foreign ministers before Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, rebuffed the request, the officials said.

The P-8, with its advanced radar, high definition cameras and acoustic sensors, has been mapping the islands, surface and underwater areas of the South China Sea for at least six years.

Representatives for Indonesia’s president and defense minister, the US State Department, and the US embassy in Jakarta did not respond to requests for comment.