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  • 2022-12-17 (xsd:date)
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  • False posts claim Indonesia and Australia are at war over Ashmore Reef (en)
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  • Multiple videos that have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube and Facebook falsely claim Indonesia and Australia are at war over the ownership of Ashmore Reef on the maritime border of the two countries. There have been no official reports that the two countries are at war, as of December 17, 2022. Indonesia's foreign ministry officials have said Ashmore Reef belongs to Australia. The posts also share videos in a false context. Voiceovers in the clips read news reports that are not related to the purported conflict, often altering original reports to include words such as Indonesia and Australia. First video One video was shared on YouTube here on November 29, 2022, where it has been viewed 16,000 times. In Matter of Seconds, Tens of Australia's Bombs Successfully Turned Indonesia's Territory Into This!! reads the post's title. Screenshot of the first misleading post, taken on December 14, 2022 The same eight-minute footage was also uploaded alongside a similar claim on Facebook here , racking up more than 110,000 views. A narrator in the video can be heard speaking about Australia announcing its two fighter planes had dispensed bombs in Indonesia's waters near Pulau Pasir -- a reference to Australia's Ashmore Reef . The female narrator further says the report was based on a statement from an Australian military commander given to the Australia Broadcasting Corporation as quoted by AFP. As the narrator speaks, the video shows scenes of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese giving a press briefing. In October 2022, Indonesian media, including state-run news agency Antara , reported that an Indonesian fisherman had intended to file a lawsuit against Australia over its ownership of Pulau Pasir. The reef is part of MoU Box , an area in the Australian waters in the Timor Sea that can be accessed by Indonesian traditional fishers based on a 1974 agreement between the two neighbouring countries. However, the claim is false. There have been no official reports that Indonesia and Australia are at war over the ownership of Ashmore Reef. The purported news report read in the first video was lifted from a report by Indonesian news site Detikcom on 22 July 2013, titled: US Drops Bombs Near Great Barrier Reef to Avoid Civilian Vessels. The report read by the narrator includes: Australia gave a statement on the incident of the bomb disposal by its two fighter planes in the Indonesian waters and Marks, commander of Australia's 7th Fleet, explained the reason of the bombing, which was to send a strong response to Indonesia's purchase of Pulau Pasir. However, the original Detikcom report reads: The US military gave a statement on the incident of the bomb disposal by its two fighter planes in the Australian waters and William Marks, commander of the US 7th Fleet in the Talisme Sabre joint military exercise, explained the reason of the bomb disposal at the Great Barrier Reef. AFP's 2013 report of the incident, which quoted the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, can be read here . The scene showing Albanese talking to the camera is actually his first press conference as Australia's new prime minister on May 23, 2023, as published by Sky News here . At the press briefing, he talked about his intentions as Australia's new prime minister and did not mention anything about Indonesia or Ashmore Reef. Below is a screenshot comparison of the first misleading video (left) and the genuine video from Sky News (right): Screenshot comparison of the first misleading video (left) and the genuine video from Sky News (right) Second video Another video, posted on YouTube here on November 10, 2022, has been viewed by more than 25,000 times. The title reads: Australia Is Overwhelmed Dealing With Indonesian Troops at Pulau Pasir. Screenshot of the second misleading post, taken on December 14, 2022 The same video also has been uploaded on Facebook here alongside a similar claim and has been viewed more than 24,000 times. A narrator can be heard saying in the clip: The war between Indonesia and Australia was said to have been predicted by the famous Michel de Nostredeme or Nostradamus. It is even said that the Indonesia-Australia war will happen in 2037. Keywords searches on Google found that all of the words spoken by the narrator in the video are from two articles, both published by local media Grid.id. One of them is about French astrologer Nostradamus, who allegedly predicted that there would be war between Australia and Indonesia in 2037 and another one discusses the history of Ashmore Reef and speculates how it could create a war between Australia and Indonesia in the future. At the 1-minute, 47-second mark, one of the clips shows a fighter aircraft dropping a bomb in mid-air. The scene was posted by Lockheed Martin, the world's largest military contractor, here on their official YouTube account on December 20, 2013. The video shows an F-35 Lightning II, a combat aircraft, employed a guided bomb from the internal weapons bay against a fixed ground test target. Below is the screenshot comparison of the second misleading video (left) and the genuine video from Lockheed Martin (right): Screenshot comparison of the second misleading video (left) and the genuine video from Lockheed Martin (right) Another clip, at the 03:22 mark, shows Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo, who was standing in front of Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko , talking to the press. The clip corresponds to a longer video here which was uploaded by the Presidential Secretariat’s official YouTube account. The video was taken on January 8, 2020, when Jokowi visited the Natuna islands. Below is the screenshot comparison of the second misleading video (left) and the genuine video from the Presidential Secretariat (right): Screenshot comparison of the second misleading video (left) and the genuine video from the Presidential Secretariat (right) Third video The third video was posted on YouTube here on 23 November 2022, garnering more than 51,000 views. The five-minute, 23-second video has a title: Sadistic War!! Australia Deploys Thousands of Troops to Pulau Pasir for Counterattack!! Screenshot of the third misleading post, taken on December 14, 2022 The identical clip was also shared on Facebook here , where it has been viewed more than 429,000 times. At the 2-minute, 34-second mark, a narrator can be hard speaking: Under the leadership of the one-starred general from the Purple Baret Corps, a number of troops broke through the eastern coast of Pulau Pasir, which was occupied by the US and Australian soldiers. It didn't involve only troops, but also employed a number of amphibean vehicles and military equipment to bombard the target. Later, at the 3-minute, 20-second mark, the narrator says: Meanwhile, on behalf of the US, President Joe Biden stated that the US had a special responsibility to uphold international peace. Therefore, he hoped the country wouldn't weaken the sanctions against Russia, which supports Indonesia in seizing Pulau Pasir. Keywords searches on Google found that these were taken from two reports published by Indonesian news sites that have nothing to do with the purported conflict. One article, published by Viva.co.id on September 25, 2021, reported on the Indonesian marine's military exercise at Riau islands. Parts of the report said: Under the leadership of the one-starred general from the Purple Baret Corps, a number of troops broke through the coast of Pulau Pasir, occupied by enemy. It didn't involve only troops, but also employed a number of amphibean vehicles and military equipment to bombard the target. The other report, published by CNBC Indonesia on April 6, 2022, was about European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's comments about China's role in sanctions against Russia. The first paragraph of the report read: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that China had a special responsibility to uphold international peace. Therefore, she hoped the country would not weaken the sanctions against Russia. Scenes in the video showing Biden giving a speech is actually taken when the US president addressed US troops stationed in Poland in March 2022 amid the Russia-Ukraine war. It was published by NBC News here on March 25, 2022. Below is a screenshot comparison of the third misleading video (left) and the genuine video from NBC News (right): Screenshot comparison of the third misleading video (left) and the genuine video from NBC News (right) Part of Australia's territory Abdul Kadir Jailani, Indonesian foreign ministry's director general for Asian, Pacific and African Affairs, has said Ashmore Reef is part of Australia's territory and has never belonged to Indonesia. According to international law, the territory of the Republic of Indonesia is limited to the territory of the former Dutch East Indies, he said in a Twitter thread on October 24, 2022. Pulau Pasir was never included in the administration of the Dutch East Indies. Thus, Pulau Pasir has never been a territory of the Republic of Indonesia. Pulau Pasir merupakan pulau yang dimiliki Australia berdasarkan warisan dari Inggris. Pulau tersebut dimiliki oleh Inggris berdasarkan Ashmore and Cartier Acceptance Act, 1933, dan dimasukkan ke dalam wilayah administrasi Negara Bagian Australia Barat pada tahun 1942. — Abdul Kadir Jailani (@akjailani) October 24, 2022 Pulau Pasir is an island owned by Australia, inherited from Britain. The island belonged to Britain according to the Ashmore and Cartier Acceptance Act, 1993, and was incorporated into the administration of the State of Western Australia in 1942, he added. Foreign ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah has also said repeatedly that Ashmore Reef belongs to Australia and that Indonesia does not dispute it. According to international law, the area is part of the British Commonwealth with territorial boundaries agreed in the past between Britain and the Netherlands, he told state-run radio station RRI on October 25, 2022. Indonesia has never possessed and does not lay claim on Pulau Pasir or Ashmore Reef, Faizahsyah told journalists on October 27, 2022. December 19, 2022 Fixed typos (en)
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