Landing at Kesang River

During the celebrations of Indonesia's independence from the Netherlands on 17 August 1964, President of Indonesia Sukarno declared that the year to come would be a 'Year of Dangerous Living.' This was meant to signal his intent upon intensifying the ongoing Confrontation by expanding the conflict to mainland Malaysia, a risky move that might provoke a major British response. Sukarno meant to follow through with his statement immediately, and had planned to launch a series of airborne and seaborne attacks by Indonesian 'volunteers' on the Malay peninsula. Though this was a potentially dangerous effort, as it took the war out of its containment in Borneo, it had a chance of capitalizing upon recent unrest in Malaya and Singapore by putting Indonesian soldiers and sympathizers inside Malaysian territory, where they could attempt to raise the populace against a new and unpopular government. The first landing was made at Pontian on the night of Sukarno's speech, and subsequent operations were attempted at Labis, Malacca, Panchor, and Pontian again throughout the fall. The next landing was set for the night of 29 October, in the jungles surrounding the Kesang River. ==Landings==

In the night of 29 October, 52 Indonesian volunteers sailed across the Straits of Malacca in commandeered fishing vessels, and landed on each side of the western mouth of the Kesang River. Their objective was to avoid being sighted initially by Malaysian security forces and slip quietly into the swampland, where they would attempt to blend in with the populace, begin sowing the seeds of rebellion, and launch guerrilla raids against Malaysian infrastructure. However, Malaysian fishermen spotted the raiders in the process of landing, and quickly informed the police. The British were assisted by Australian troops of the Royal Australian Regiment's 3rd Battalion, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Bruce McDonald, who had also received similar tip-offs and assisted in the rout of the Indonesian force. ==Aftermath==

Though the Landing at Kesang River was a failure for Indonesia, with none of the mission's objectives being completed, this did not deter them from future raiding attempts. One raid was attempted on the east coast of Johore at Kuala Sedili on 15 November, before the operation returned to the west once more with landings at Semarah and Kuala Buntu in December. Anglo-Malaysian naval forces intercepted several seaborne raids in December and January, before the raiding began to die down in the early part of 1965, relieving British planners of the need to make retaliatory strikes against Indonesian bases, which would have escalated the conflict yet further in a tense period. ==References==