ISSUE 183 : Nov/Dec - 2010 - Australian Defence Force Journal

Colin East goes to SESKOAD – in ‘a year of livingdangerously’, 1964Lieutenant Colonel Bob Lowry (Retd)IntroductionBy late 1962, the Dutch had been forced to surrender West New Guinea—the last bastion ofthe former Netherlands East Indies—to Indonesia via an interim UN administration and thepromise of an act of ‘free choice’ by its people within five years. Then, in January 1963, after afoiled revolt in Brunei a month earlier, President Sukarno declared ‘Confrontation’ against theproposal to amalgamate the British colonies in Borneo into the new Federation of Malaysia,set to be proclaimed on 31 August 1963.Cross-border raids into Borneo by Indonesian ‘volunteers’ commenced soon after, elicitinga measured British response that escalated as more Indonesian troops and resources werecommitted. The Australian Government declared its support for the formation of Malaysiabut was reluctant to commit its ground forces stationed in Malaya, although it did agreeto their use on the Malayan Peninsula (and some individuals were already attached toBritish units in Borneo). This reluctance arose from the Government’s desire to preserveits longer-term interests with Indonesia and distance itself from British obligations andcommitments. However, in frequent confidential communications, it pressed Indonesia to halt‘Confrontation’ and advised that it would provide military support if pressed by the Malaysianand British governments.Surprisingly, in the midst of these mounting tensions, Indonesia issued an invitation toAustralia to send a student to its Army Command and Staff College (SESKOAD) in Bandung. Theinvitation was accepted and Lieutenant Colonel Colin East was duly dispatched in December1963 to become not only the first Australian but the first foreign officer to attend the course.This article describes East’s experience, as recorded in his diary 1 , as well as the Australian andIndonesian governments’ policy considerations surrounding his attendance at the course.Why was the invitation issued and accepted?By the late 1950s, a small number of Indonesian officers had undertaken specialist trainingin Australia. In December 1959, the Australian Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, during hisonly visit to Indonesia, promised—at the prompting of General A.H. Nasution, Indonesia’sMinister for Defence and Chief of Staff of the Army—to confirm the possibility of trainingmilitary officers in Australia, including at the staff colleges. There was some Australianpress controversy over the nature of the training offered but, in March 1960, Nasution toldthe new Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Patrick Shaw, that he was pleased the PrimeMinister’s commitment had been confirmed and wanted to take up the offer of higher stafftraining immediately. 2Reciprocal funding arrangements were agreed and the first Indonesian students attendedthe Australian Staff College at Queenscliff in 1961. At the same time, East was instructed to45