Singapore Blocks Indonesian Military Officials From Attending Air Show

Singapore has rescinded an invitation to Indonesia’s top military officials from attending the Singapore Air Show20114 this week following a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Jakarta’s decision to name a new frigate after two Indonesian marines executed for a 1965 bombing in the city state that killed three people has left Singapore fuming, according to various reports.

The commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces, General Moeldoko, Army Chief of Staff General Budiman and Indonesian Air Force Chief of Staff ACM Ida Bagus Putu Dunia along with Indonesia's deputy defence minister, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, have decided that they will not go to the Singapore Airshow, the Indonesian defense ministry said in a statement on February 7.

The two marines were convicted for the March 1965 bombing of MacDonald House on Orchard Road during Indonesia's "confrontation" with the newly formed Malaysia, which Singapore was part of at the time, according to Reuters.

The marines were executed in Singapore in 1968, but in Indonesia were given the status of national heroes and received a ceremonial funeral, the report added.

According to local press reports, Indonesian ministers were contacted by their Singaporean counterparts asking that the government reassess the ship’s name.

"I hope the Indonesian leaders will not sacrifice our bilateral relations, so carefully built up, to domestic politics or through carelessness," Singapore's Second Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing said in a statement on Friday.

However, Jakarta has defended the naming decision, saying it is in line with the practice of naming vessels after the country's heroes.