Indonesia initially refused to take the blame for the missing ships, saying it had not been asked to protect the wrecks and therefore was not responsible for them. "I would also like to thank Indonesia for its offer to cooperate after we learnt about the sad news on the shipwrecks," Rutte told reporters at the state palace. Amateur divers discovered the long-lost wrecks of three Dutch warships in 2002, 60 years after they were sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea against Japanese forces. It is believed the ships were removed by illegal scavengers looking for scrap metal, an effort that could have taken years. Britain expressed distress at the disappearance of its own three warships and asked Indonesia to "take appropriate action" to protect the sites from further disturbance.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 23, 2016 08:20 UTC