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A ‘State Within a State’: Indonesian Minister Sounds Alarm Over Unsupervised Chinese-Owned Airport

The airport sits alongside the Chinese-backed Indonesian Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP)—the epicentre of the country’s nickel processing centre.
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A ‘State Within a State’: Indonesian Minister Sounds Alarm Over Unsupervised Chinese-Owned Airport
In this aerial view - A view of Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), that consists of around 77,000 local workers and around 6,000 Chinese workers in Morowali, Central Sulawesi in Indonesia on Aug. 2, 2023. Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
Rex Widerstrom
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A lack of oversight of the operations of a Chinese majority-owned and operated private airport in Indonesia’s nickel-processing region of Morowali poses a potential threat to the country’s sovereignty and economic stability, its defence minister has warned.

Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin raised concerns during the TNI (Indonesian Armed Forces) Integrated Exercise in the region on Nov. 20, claiming the airport was “operating without any state apparatus” on site.

Rex Widerstrom
Rex Widerstrom
Author
Rex Widerstrom is a New Zealand-based reporter with over 40 years of experience in media, including radio and print. He is currently a presenter for Hutt Radio.