The AP Interview: Harris Says Trump Shouldn’t Be An Exception For Jan. 6 Accountability

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, right, talks with Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin as traditional dancers perform, upon arrival to attend the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia,Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool)

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that those responsible for the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the ensuing violence at the U.S Capitol must be held accountable — even if that means Donald Trump.

“Let the evidence, the facts, take it where it may,” Harris said in an interview with The Associated Press in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she was attending a regional summit, noting: “Everyone has their right to their day in court.”

Federal prosecutors have indicted Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, for his efforts to cling to power in 2020. The former president also has been charged in Georgia in a scheme to subvert the will of voters who elected Democrat Joe Biden instead of giving Trump a second term.

“I spent the majority of my career as a prosecutor,” said Harris, who served as California’s attorney general before moving to Washington as a U.S. senator. “I believe that people should be held accountable under the law. And when they break the law, there should be accountability.”

The White House has been circumspect in addressing the issue of criminal charges against Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, to avoid any whiff of political meddling in the work of prosecutors, particularly as Biden seeks a second term in 2024. But both Biden and Harris have been outspoken about what they view as the very real danger to American democracy the aftermath of the 2020 election exposed.

“Democracies are very fragile,” the vice president said in the AP interview. “They will only be as strong as our willingness to fight for it.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said with her comments, the vice president was affirming her belief “in our system of laws,” a belief the president shares.

“This is something that of course the president shares and believes in ... but I’m going to let the Department of Justice do their job independently,” Jean-Pierre said.

Harris is representing the United States at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in place of Biden.

The president’s absence disappointed some, but the White House emphasized that it remained committed to the region, which Harris reiterated in her interview.

“We as Americans, I believe, have a very significant interest, both in terms of our security but also our prosperity, today and in the future, in developing and strengthening these relationships,” she said.

Southeast Asia is a critical arena for the rivalry between the U.S. and China, particularly when it comes to the South China Sea. One-third of global shipping traverses its waters.

Beijing recently released a new government map that emphasizes its disputed territorial claims to the sea.

“It’s a violation of the law. And that’s where I put that map,” Harris told the AP.

ASEAN has struggled to make progress on issues such as the military coup in Myanmar, but Harris said the organization “absolutely” remains a critical forum.

“The fact that so many leaders are convening in this one place at the same time to address some of the biggest challenges facing our world is a sign of strength of both the commitment that each nation has to the coalition and the potential for collaboration,” she said.

Harris sounded a strong warning about reports that Russia was talking with North Korea about obtaining weapons for its invasion of Ukraine, calling the possible alliance “ill-advised.”

“Russia has been levied a strategic failure,” she said. ”Their aggressive, unprovoked actions in Ukraine have resulted in a situation where the aura and myth of the Russian military has now been dispelled.”

Harris dismissed concerns about Biden’s age, 80, even though he’s widely seen as too old for office. A recent AP/NORC poll showed that 77% of Americans and 69% of Democrats think he’s too old for a second term.

Harris is next in line for the presidency, a position that increased scrutiny of her as she serves with a president who would be 86 at the end of a potential second term. Some Republican presidential hopefuls claim that a vote for Biden would really end up being a vote for Harris — and not in a good way.

“I see him every day. A substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can, to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people have played out,” she said. “And so I will say to you that I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers. And Joe Biden delivers.”

Harris described the idea of possibly stepping into the role of president as “hypothetical” but said she was ready.

“Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition,” she stated. “But let us also understand that every vice president — every vice president — understands that when they take the oath they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president.”

Harris added, “I’m no different.”

Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this report from Washington.

Indonesia Wants To Be Part Of Africa’s Economy ‘Success Story’: Foreign Minister

BY YVETTE TANAMAL

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (THE JAKARTA POST) – Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi met her Gambian counterpart Mamadou Tangara and Guinean Transportation Minister Felix Lamah on two separate occasions in Jakarta on Tuesday, during which time she reaffirmed numerous bilateral agreements between Indonesia and the two African countries.

These agreements, primarily revolving around multilateral trade and intents to cooperate in the field of transportation, were a reflection of Indonesia’s eagerness to “become a part of a success story of Africa’s economic development”, said Retno.

Despite Africa being a nontraditional partner of Indonesia, Jakarta had paid special attention to Africa, a bond rooted in the historical Asian-African or the Bandung Conference in 1955 that established the two continents’ shared solidarity against colonialism. Since early 2000s, Indonesia had amped up its African cooperation by multiplying their trade value fivefold to US$11.7 billion, as Retno previously wrote in 2017 that “some of the largest contributors to the annual Trade Expo Indonesia hail from Africa”.

In the meeting with Tangara, Retno welcomed Gambia’s role as the host of the upcoming Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit this year.

“Indonesia supports Gambia’s efforts to deliver beneficial cooperation for all the OIC countries, which included the fulfillment of the education rights of the Afghan women as well as works to fortify [the countries’] capacity in agriculture,” Retno said in a press release on Tuesday. The statement also said that Indonesia has affirmed its intention to renovate the Agricultural Rural Farmers Training Centre (ARFTC) in Gambia, which Jakarta built in 1996.

The Tuesday meeting also paid special attention to the follow-up of the initiatives suggested at the Indonesia-Africa Forum 2018 and the Indonesia-Africa Infrastructure Dialogue 2019.

Additionally, Gambia conveyed its readiness to progress the Preferential Trade Agreement between Indonesia and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a cooperation pact that had been in the pipeline since 2017.

With Guinea’s minister Lamah, Retno welcomed the plans for the signing of the Letter of Intent (LoI) in transportation, which will take place on Thursday.

Future cooperation will likely see efforts in the aviation sector, specifically the establishment of Guinea Air, which will involve pilot training, mechanic training and aircraft maintenance. A number of state-owned enterprises, including aircraft-maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia and electric motorcycle-maker PT Wika Industri Manufaktur had been intended to take part in possible cooperation related to transportation.

“We will actualize these agreements, specifically in the fields of aviation, maritime and land [train] transportation, both on the government-to-government and the business-to-business level,” Retno affirmed.

Biden ‘Unlikely’ Missile That Hit Poland Fired From Russia

In this photo provided by the White House, President Joe Biden talks on the phone with Polish President Andrzej Duda as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, center, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken listen, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, in Nusa Dua, Indonesia. (Adam Schultz/The White House via AP)

BY SEUNG MIN KIM AND ZEKE MILLER

NUSA DUA, INDONESIA (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that it was “unlikely” that a missile that killed two in NATO-ally Poland was fired from Russia, but pledged support for Poland’s investigation into what it had called a “Russian-made” missile.

Biden spoke after he convened an “emergency” meeting of the Group of Seven and NATO leaders in Indonesia Wednesday morning for consultations the attack on that killed two people in the eastern part of Poland near the Ukraine border.

“There is preliminary information that contests that,” Biden told reporters when asked if the missile had been fired from Russia. “It is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we’ll see.”

The president, who was awakened overnight by staff with the news of the missile explosion while in Indonesia for the Group of 20 summit, called Polish President Andrzej Duda early Wednesday to express his “deep condolences” for the loss of life. Biden promised on Twitter “full U.S support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation,” and “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to NATO.”

Biden said that he briefed the allies on his conversations with Duda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and that there was “Total unanimity among the folks at the table” to support Poland’s investigation into the attack.

“I’m going to make sure we figure out exactly what happened,” Biden said. “Then we’re going to figure out our next step.”

Meeting at a large round table in a ballroom in his hotel, the U.S. president hosted the leaders of the G-7, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union, along with the president of the European Council and the prime ministers of NATO allies Spain and the Netherlands.

A statement from the Polish Foreign Ministry identified the missile as being made in Russia. But Poland’s president, Duda, was more cautious about its origin, saying that officials did not know for sure who fired it or where it was made. He said it was “most probably” Russian-made, but that is being still verified. If confirmed, it would be the first time since the invasion of Ukraine that a Russian weapon came down on a NATO country.

The foundation of the NATO alliance is the principle that an attack against one member is an attack on them all.

1,000 Survivors Of Violence, Hunger At Sea Land In SE Asia

Bangladeshi migrants walk toward a temporary shelter upon arrival at Kuala Langsa Port in Langsa, Aceh province, Indonesia, Friday, May 15, 2015. Hundreds of Bangladeshi and ethnic Rohingya migrants have landed on the shores of Indonesia and Thailand after being adrift at sea for weeks, authorities said Friday. They are among the few who have successfully sneaked past a wall of resistance mounted by Southeast Asian countries who have made it clear the boat people are not welcome. (AP Photo)

LANGSA, INDONESIA (AP) — More than 1,000 people fleeing persecution in Myanmar and poverty in Bangladesh came ashore Friday around Southeast Asia, describing murder, extortion and near-starvation after surviving a harrowing journey at sea.

An increasingly alarmed United Nations warned against "floating coffins" and urged regional leaders to put human lives first. The waves of weak, hungry and dehydrated migrants who arrived Friday were the latest to slip into countries that have made it clear they're not welcome. But thousands more are still believed stranded at sea in what has become a humanitarian crisis no one in the region is rushing to solve.

Most of the migrants were crammed onto three boats that Indonesian fishermen towed ashore, while a group of 106 people were found on a Thai island known for its world-class scuba diving and brought to the mainland.

"If I had known that the boat journey would be so horrendous, I would rather have just died in Myanmar," said Manu Abudul Salam, 19, a Rohingya from Myanmar's Rakhine state where three years of attacks against the long-persecuted Muslim minority have sparked the region's largest exodus of boat people since the Vietnam War.

Manu was aboard the largest boat to come ashore Friday, a wooden vessel crammed with nearly 800 people that was towed to the Indonesian village of Langsa in eastern Aceh province. The vessel was at sea when authorities around the region began cracking down on human trafficking two weeks ago. Aid groups and rights workers have warned that the crackdown prompted some captains and smugglers to abandon their ships and leave migrants to fend for themselves — a claim that was corroborated by survivors who came ashore Friday.

Manu said she watched the captain on her ship fleeing on a speed boat several days ago after apparently receiving a call on his cell phone. Before he left, he destroyed the boat's engine, she said, and the boat began to drift.

With food and water running out, tempers flared and fighting broke out, Manu said, sobbing, saying that her 20-year-old brother was among dozens killed in violent clashes between the Bangladeshis and Rohingya on board.

"They thought the captain was from our country, so they attacked us with sticks and knives," she said, sobbing. "My brother is dead." The bodies of the dead were thrown into the sea, she said. A 19-year-old Bangladeshi survivor, Saidul Islam, also said that dozens died on the ship from starvation and injuries after fighting broke out following the captain's evacuation. His voyage lasted three months, starting when a man turned up at his village and asked if anyone wanted a boat ride to Malaysia, known for better job prospects. But once at sea, the captain demanded hundreds of dollars and made the men call their families to secure payment. There were also beatings aboard the vessel, which was stifling hot and cramped.

"We could not stand up. When we asked for water, the captain hit us with wire," he said. Southeast Asia for years tried to quietly ignore the plight of Myanmar's 1.3 million Rohingya but is now being confronted with a dilemma that in many ways it helped create. In the last three years, more than 120,000 Rohingya have boarded ships to flee to other countries, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

No countries want them, fearing that accepting a few would result in an unstoppable flow of poor, uneducated migrants. But Southeast Asian governments at the same time respected the wishes of Myanmar at regional gatherings, avoiding discussions of state-sponsored discrimination against the Rohingya.

Myanmar, in its first official comments as the crisis escalated in the past two weeks, indicated it won't take back migrants who claim to be Rohingya, who are denied citizenship in Myanmar and are effectively stateless.

"We cannot say that the migrants are from Myanmar unless we can identify them," said government spokesman Ye Htut. "Most victims of human trafficking claim they are from Myanmar is it is very easy and convenient for them."

Another official, Maj. Zaw Htay, said that Myanmar "will not attend a regional meeting hosted by Thailand if "Rohingya' is mentioned on the invitation." Even the name is taboo in Myanmar, which calls them "Bengalis" and insists they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, even though Rohingya have lived in the majority-Buddhist country for generations.

Thailand has convened a meeting of senior officials for May 29, but the Myanmar officials' comments show the difficulty in resolving the crisis. The deputy spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, Farhan Haq, told reporters Friday that Ban Ki-moon plans to speak with regional leaders to urge them to put human lives first in the migrant crisis. "We don't want them, in other words, to be in floating coffins," Haq said.

Most of the migrants are believed to be heading to Malaysia, a Muslim country that has hosted more than 45,000 Rohingya over the years but now says it can't accept any more. Indonesia and Thailand have voiced similar stances.

Earlier this week, about 1,600 migrants were rescued by the Malaysian and Indonesian navies, but both countries then sent other boats away. It wasn't clear whether those who came ashore Friday had been turned away earlier.

The U.N.'s top human rights official said it was "incomprehensible and inhumane" to turn the boats away. "I am appalled at reports that Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have been pushing boats full of vulnerable migrants back out to sea," said Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. "The focus should be on saving lives, not further endangering them."

The International Organization for Migration called on regional governments to help and said it was releasing $1 million to help migrants on shore and still stranded at sea. Director General William Lacy Swing said the IOM would assist with longer-term problems like transportation and living arrangements, "but in the name of humanity, let these migrants land."

As boats arrived in scattered spots of Indonesia and Thailand on Friday, it was increasingly clear that nobody knows how many boats are adrift or where. The boat that Manu was on was crammed with about 790 people, including 61 children and 61 women, many weak from lack of food and water, said Lt. Col. Sunarya, who uses only one name. Fishermen spotted the boat on the verge of sinking.

"Some of the people told police they were abandoned at sea for days and Malaysian authorities had already turned their boat away," said Sunarya, a Langsa police chief. Authorities in Langsa provided basic shelter for the migrants in two large warehouses, and residents came to donate food, drinks and clothing. More than 50 people were treated for dehydration and injuries, according to Syamsul, an official at the Langsa General Hospital.

About 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Langsa, fishermen rescued a smaller boat carrying 47 Rohingya, also dehydrated and hungry, said police chief Dicky Sandoni, from Aceh's Tamiang district. In neighboring North Sumatra province, fishermen rescued a third boat with 96 weak and hungry people adrift in a motorless boat, said Capt. Suroso of the Langkat district police. They were provided basic shelter and food, he said.

Separately, the Thai navy found 106 people, mostly men but including 15 women and two children, on a small island off the coast of Phang Nga province, an area known as the Surin Islands and famous for its scuba diving. They were brought to a police immigration facility on the mainland.

"It's not clear how they ended up on the island," said Prayoon Rattanasenee, the Phang Nga provincial governor. The group said they were Rohingya from Myanmar. "We are in the process of identifying if they were victims of human trafficking."

Gecker reported from Bangkok. AP writers Thanyarat Doksone in Bangkok, Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.

Indonesia Confirms It Executed 8 For Drug Smuggling

An ambulance arrives from the prison island of Nusakambangan where the executions were carried out, in Cilacap, Central Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 29, 2015. Indonesia brushed aside last-minute appeals and executed eight people convicted of drug smuggling, according to foreign governments and local media reports Wednesday, although a Philippine woman was granted a stay of execution

CILACAP, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia brushed aside last-minute appeals and executed eight people convicted of drug smuggling on Wednesday, although a Philippine woman was granted a stay of execution.

Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo confirmed at a news conference hours after the deaths had been widely reported that each of the eight had been executed simultaneously at 12:35 a.m. (1735 GMT) by a 13-member firing squad. Medical teams confirmed their deaths three minutes later, he said.

"The executions have been successfully implemented, perfectly," Prasetyo said. "All worked, no misses," he said of the deaths of two Australians, four Nigerians, a Brazilian and an Indonesian man. Prasetyo early announced that Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso had been granted a stay of execution while the Philippines investigates her case.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that Australia will withdraw its ambassador from Jakarta in response to the executions of two Australians, Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31. "These executions are both cruel and unnecessary," Abbott told reporters.

He said it was cruel because Chan and Sukumaran had spent a decade in jail before being executed and "unnecessary because both of these young Australians were fully rehabilitated while in prison." Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff said in a statement the execution of a second Brazilian citizen in Indonesia this year "marks a serious event in the relations between the two countries."

Brazil had asked for a stay of execution for Rodrigo Gularte, 42, on humanitarian grounds because he was schizophrenic. Prasetyo dismissed concerns that Indonesia had done long-term damage to bilateral relations through the executions.

"It's just a momentary reaction," he said. "What we're doing is carrying out court decisions." He said that the message was "do not try to smuggle drugs in Indonesia, because we will be harsh and firm against drug-related crimes."

Michael Chan, brother of Andrew Chan, who became a Christian pastor during his decade in prison and married an Indonesian woman on Monday, reacted with anger. "I have just lost a courageous brother to a flawed Indonesian legal system. I miss you already RIP my Little Brother," he tweeted.

In a statement, the Sukumaran and Chan families, said: "In the 10 years since they were arrested, they did all they could to make amends, helping many others. They asked for mercy, but there was none."

Mary Jane Veloso's mother, Celia, said that the stay of execution for her daughter was nothing short of a miracle. Presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma thanked Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo for giving due consideration to the appeal of his Philippine counterpart, Benigno Aquino III. He said the reprieve provides an opportunity for her testimony to expose how a criminal syndicate duped her into being an unwitting accomplice and courier in drug trafficking.

There were cheers from the more than 250 Veloso supporters who held a candlelight vigil outside the Indonesian Embassy in Manila. Veloso, 30, was arrested in 2010 at the airport in the central Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, where officials discovered about 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of heroin hidden in her luggage.

Prasetyo said Veloso was granted a stay of execution because her alleged boss has been arrested in the Philippines, and the authorities there requested Indonesian assistance in pursuing the case. "This delay did not cancel the execution. We just want to give a chance in relation with the legal process in the Philippines," he said.

The woman who allegedly recruited Veloso to work in Kuala Lumpur, Maria Kristina Sergio, surrendered to police in the Philippines on Monday, Deputy Police Director-General Leonardo A. Espina said. Sukumaran and Chan requested that their bodies be flown back to Australia. Nigerian Martin Anderson chose to be buried in the West Java town of Bekasi, and fellow Nigerian Raheem Agbaje, wanted to be buried in the East Java town of Madiun where he had been a prisoner. Indonesian Zainal Abidin is to be buried in Cilacap.

The wishes of two other Nigerians — Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise and Okwudili Oyatanze — as well as those of Gularte, the Brazilian, have yet to be made public. Originally, 10 inmates were to be executed, but Frenchman Serge Atlaoui was excluded because he still had an outstanding court appeal against Jokowi's rejection of his clemency application.

The government says Atlaoui will face a firing squad alone if his appeal is rejected by the Administrative Court. Jokowi's predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, canceled a trip to Australia this week because of growing anger over the executions. He was to give a speech at the University of Western Australian in the city of Perth on Friday on Australia's diplomatic and economic relationships with its Asia-Pacific neighbors, including Indonesia.

Associated Press writers Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, Kristen Gelineau in Sydney, Niniek Karmini and Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta, Indonesia, Jim Gomez, Teresa Cerojano, video journalist Joeal Calupitan and photographer Alberto Marquez in Manila, Philippines, Angela Charlton in Paris and Adriana Gomez-Licon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, contributed to this report.

2 Large Objects Found In AirAsia Wreckage Hunt

National Search And Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) personnel carry the body of a victim on board the ill-fated AirAsia Flight 8501, from a helicopter upon arrival at the airport in Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015. After nearly a week of searching for the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501, rescue teams battling monsoon rains had their most successful day yet, more than tripling the number of bodies pulled from the Java Sea, some still strapped to their seats

PANGKALAN BUN, INDONESIA (AP) — Indonesian officials were hopeful Saturday they were honing in on the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501 after sonar equipment detected two large objects on the ocean floor, a full week after the plane went down in stormy weather.

Teams equipped with a remote-operated vehicle were battling high waves and strong currents as they tried to capture images of the find for confirmation, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency.

The objects were detected early Friday by an Indonesian navy ship, and by midnight, searchers had zoomed in with a Geological Survey vessel to take dimensions. "I'm confident this is part of the AirAsia plane," said Soelistyo. One of the objects was measured at 9.4 meters by 4.8 meters (31 feet by 15 feet) and a half-meter (20 inches) high. The other, found nearby, was 7.2 meters (24 feet) by a half meter (20 inches).

The Airbus A320 carrying 162 passengers and crew crashed last Sunday, halfway into a two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore. Minutes before losing contact, the pilot told air traffic control he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic.

Indonesian authorities announced the grounding of AirAsia flights from Surabaya to Singapore, with the Transport Ministry saying the airline did not have a permit to fly on Sundays, the day of the crash.

AirAsia, which began operations in 2001, quickly becoming one of the region's most popular low-cost carriers, said it was reviewing the suspension. So far, only 30 corpses have been recovered, a few still strapped in their seats. Bad weather and waves, sometimes 4 meters (13 feet) high, have slowed efforts, scattering bodies and debris farther away. An emergency exit door and slide were among the discoveries.

It remains unclear what caused the plane to plunge into the Java Sea. Generally, aviation experts say the more passengers, luggage and parts of the aircraft that remain intact indicate the plane hit the water in one piece. That would signal problems like a mechanical error or a stall instead of a midair breakup due to an explosion or sudden depressurization.

For family members, the seven-day wait has been agonizing with local media covering every development and theory, many of which have proved to be untrue — including a false report that a body was found wearing a life jacket, which would have indicated passengers had time to prepare for the impact or miraculously were able to put them on after hitting the water.

As more corpses start to arrive in Surabaya, some relatives said they were simply worn out. But they were encouraged by reports that parts of the plane had been found and hoped that everyone on board would be retrieved.

"Let's hope the news is true," said Ongko Gunawan, whose sister was traveling with her husband and their child. "We need to move on." Vessels involved in the search for debris included at least eight sophisticated navy ships from Singapore, Russia, Malaysia and the U.S. equipped with sonars for scouring the seabed to pinpoint the all-important black boxes and the wreckage.

The U.S. Navy said it was sending a second vessel, one of the newest in the fleet, to help in the search. The hope, officials say, is that the body of the plane will still be largely intact, speeding the investigation.

"Many of passengers believed to be still trapped inside the plane's fuselage and could be discovered soon," Supriyadi said, "God willing, we would complete this operation next week."

Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini, Ali Kotarumalos and Margie Mason in Jakarta, Eileen Ng in Surabaya, Indonesia, and Scott Mayerowitz in New York contributed to this report.

Official: 6 Bodies Recovered From AirAsia Crash

rescuer is lowered on rope from a hovering helicopter near a body in Java Sea waters, Indonesia Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014. Indonesian officials on Tuesday spotted six bodies from the AirAsia flight that disappeared two days earlier, and recovered three of them, in a painful end to the aviation mystery off the coast of Borneo island.

PANGKALAN BUN, INDONESIA (AP) — A massive hunt for the 162 victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 resumed in the Java Sea on Wednesday, with the recovery of six bodies, including a flight attendant identified by her trademark red uniform. But wind, strong currents and high surf hampered recovery efforts as distraught family members anxiously waited to identify their loved ones.

Three bodies were retrieved Tuesday, while the others were found after the search resumed Wednesday morning, said Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo. On Tuesday, the number had varied with different officials saying as many as six corpses had been discovered.

He said half of those found were male and half female, including the flight attendant. He added that underwater sonar identified what appeared to be large parts of the plane. The first proof of the jet's fate emerged Tuesday in an area not far from where it dropped off radar screens on Sunday morning. Searchers found the bodies and debris that included a life jacket, an emergency exit door and a suitcase about 10 miles from the plane's last known coordinates.

On Wednesday, divers were deployed, but heavy rain and clouds grounded helicopters, said Soelistyo. The airliner's disappearance halfway through a two-hour flight between Surabaya, Indonesia, and Singapore triggered an international search for the aircraft involving dozens of planes, ships and helicopters. It is still unclear what brought the plane down.

The plane needs to be located and its cockpit voice and flight data recorders, or black boxes, recovered before officials can start determining what caused the crash. Images of the debris and a bloated body shown on Indonesian television sent a spasm of anguish through the room at the Surabaya airport where relatives awaited news. Some have given blood for DNA tests and submitted photos of their loved ones along with identifying information, such as tattoos or birth marks that could help make the process easier.

The first sign of the jet turned up about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from its last known coordinates. Parts of the interior, including the oxygen tank, were brought to the nearest town, Pangkalan Bun. Another find included a bright blue plastic suitcase, completely unscratched.

"I know the plane has crashed, but I cannot believe my brother and his family are dead," said Ifan Joko, who lost seven family members, three of them children, as they traveled to Singapore to ring in the new year. "We still pray they are alive."

The corpses were spotted about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Central Kalimantan province. Rescue workers descended on ropes from a hovering helicopter to retrieve bodies. Efforts were hindered by 2-meter (6-foot) waves and strong winds, National Search and Rescue Director SB Supriyadi said.

The first body was later picked up by a navy ship. Officials said as many as six others followed, but they disagreed about the exact number. Supriyadi was on the aircraft and saw what appeared to be more wreckage under the water, which was clear and a relatively shallow 20 to 30 meters (65 to 100 feet).

When TV broadcast an image of a half-naked man floating in the water, a shirt partially covering his head, many of the family members screamed and wailed uncontrollably. One middle-aged man collapsed and had to be carried out on a stretcher.

About 125 family members had planned to travel to Pangkalan Bun to start identifying their loved ones, but Surabaya airport general manager Trikora Hardjo later said the trip was canceled after authorities suggested they stay to avoid slowing down the operation. Body bags and coffins have been prepared at three hospitals in Pangkalan Bun. Dozens of elite military divers also joined the search.

Malaysia-based AirAsia's loss comes on top of the still-unsolved disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March with 239 people aboard, and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July over Ukraine, which killed all 298 passengers and crew.

Nearly all the passengers and crew were Indonesians, who are frequent visitors to Singapore, particularly on holidays. Haidar Fauzie, 60, said his youngest child and only daughter, Khairunnisa Haidar, was a flight attendant who had worked with AirAsia for two years.

On learning about the crash, he struggled to console his grieving wife. They last saw their child six weeks ago, when she returned home on holiday. "From the start, we already knew the risks associated with being a stewardess," Fauzie said. "She is beautiful and smart. It has always been her dream to fly. We couldn't have stopped her."

AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes, the airline's founder and public face and a constant presence in Indonesia since the tragedy started unfolding, said he planned to travel to the recovery site on Wednesday.

"I have apologized profusely for what they are going through," he said of his contact with relatives. "I am the leader of this company, and I have to take responsibility. That is why I'm here. I'm not running away from my obligations."

The jet's last communication indicated the pilots were worried about bad weather. They sought permission to climb above threatening clouds but were denied because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the jet disappeared from the radar without issuing a distress signal.

Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini, Ali Kotarumalos and Margie Mason in Jakarta and Eileen Ng in Surabaya, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

Bodies Found In Indonesian Waters Where Plane Disappeared

A piece of object is floating on the waters of Java Sea near Central Kalimantan province, Indonesia on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014. An Air Asia jetliner disappeared Sunday on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore after encountering storm clouds. A massive international search effort has been launched since Flight 8501 disappeared from radar over the Java Sea.

PANGKALAN BUN, INDONESIA (AP) — Bloated bodies and debris seen floating in Indonesian waters Tuesday painfully ended the mystery of AirAsia Flight 8501, which crashed into the Java Sea with 162 people aboard and took more than two days to find, despite a massive international search.

The low-cost carrier vanished Sunday halfway through a two-hour flight between Surabaya, Indonesia and Singapore after encountering storm clouds. On Tuesday, with crews in dozens of planes, helicopters and ships looking for the aircraft, searchers discovered what appeared to be a life jacket and an emergency exit door. Part of the plane's interior, including an oxygen tank, was brought to the nearest town, Pangkalan Bun, along with a bright blue plastic suitcase that appeared to be in perfect condition.

First Adm. Sigit Setiayanta, Naval Aviation Center commander at Surabaya Air Force base, told reporters six corpses were spotted off Borneo island and about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the plane's last known coordinates. The bodies and wreckage were found about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from land.

Rescue workers were shown on local TV being lowered on ropes from a hovering helicopter to retrieve bodies. Efforts were hindered by 2-meter-high (6-foot) waves and strong winds, National Search and Rescue Director SB Supriyadi said, adding that several bodies were later picked up by a navy ship.

Supriyadi said he saw what appeared to be more wreckage under the water, which was clear and a relatively shallow 20 to 30 meters (65 to 100 feet). Indonesian television showed a half-naked body of a man whose shirt partially covered his head. The images sent a spasm of pain through family members watching together in a waiting room at the Surabaya airport.

Many screamed and wailed uncontrollably, breaking down into tears while they squeezed each other. One middle-aged man collapsed and had to be carried out on a stretcher. AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes tweeted, "My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am." By evening he had flown back to Surabaya to meet passengers' families.

Pilots of the jet had been worried about the weather on Sunday and sought permission to climb above threatening clouds, but were denied due to heavy air traffic. Minutes later, the jet was gone from the radar without issuing a distress signal.

The suspected crash caps an astonishingly tragic year for air travel in Southeast Asia, and Malaysia in particular. Malaysia-based AirAsia's loss comes on top of the still-unsolved disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March with 239 people aboard, and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July over Ukraine, which killed all 298 passengers and crew.

Nearly all the passengers and crew are Indonesians, who are frequent visitors to Singapore, particularly on holidays. Ifan Joko, 54, said that despite the tragic news he is still hoping for a miracle. His brother, Charlie Gunawan, along with his wife, their three children and two other family members, were traveling to Singapore on the plane to ring in the New Year.

"I know the plane has crashed, but I cannot believe my brother and his family are dead," he said, wiping a tear. "... We still pray they are alive." Several countries are helping Indonesia retrieve the wreckage and the passengers.

The United States on Tuesday announced it was sending the USS Sampson destroyer, joining at least 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters in the search for the jet, said Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo.

A Chinese frigate was also on the way, while Singapore said it was sending two underwater beacon detectors to try to detect pings from the plane's all-important cockpit voice and flight data recorders. Malaysia, Australia and Thailand also are involved in the search.

Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini, Ali Kotarumalos and Margie Mason in Jakarka and Eileen Ng in Surabaya, Indonesia contributed to this report.

Q & A On What Might Have Happened To Air Asia Flight

Updates the number of people onboard to match the current report. Please note a path is not available at this time.: Map locates Jakarta, Indonesia and details of the missing AirAsia plane.; 2c x 4 inches; 96.3 mm x 101 mm;

NEW YORK (AP) — Rescue crews are searching Indonesian waters for AirAsia Indonesia Flight 8501, which disappeared Sunday with 162 passengers and crew onboard. The plane was flying from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, and was about halfway to its destination, Singapore, when it vanished from radar.

Q: What could have happened here?

A: It is way too early to know for sure, but here are some options. The plane was in the safest part of flight — just 10 percent of fatal crashes from 2004 through 2013 occurred while a plane was at cruise elevation, according to a safety study published by Boeing in August.

Passing through bad weather such as severe thunderstorms could have been a factor. Airbus jets have sophisticated computers that automatically adjust to wind shears or other weather disruptions. However, weather — combined with pilot errors — has played a role in past air disasters that occurred at cruise elevation, including the 2009 Air France Flight 447 crash over the Atlantic Ocean.

Another possibility is some type of catastrophic metal fatigue caused by the cycle of pressurization and depressurization associated with each takeoff and landing cycle. This A320 had 23,000 flight hours and 13,600 takeoffs and landings. Many occurred in humid climate, which speeds corrosion. Still, metal fatigue is unlikely because this plane is only 6 years old.

Finally, there is the chance of terrorism or a mass murder by the pilot. There's no evidence of either action at this point, but neither can yet be ruled out.

Q: What did the pilots say to air traffic controllers?

A: The last communication between the pilot and air traffic control was at 6:13 a.m. Sunday (6:13 p.m. EST Saturday) when the pilot "asked to avoid clouds by turning left and going higher to 34,000 feet (10,360 meters)." The last radar contact occurred three minutes later. There was no distress call, but pilots are trained to focus first on the emergency at hand and then communicate only when free.

Q: Isn't this the third Malaysian jet to crash just this year?

A: Sort of. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared with 239 people aboard soon after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8. Its whereabouts and what happened remain one of the biggest mysteries in commercial aviation. Another Malaysia Airlines flight, also a Boeing 777, was shot down over rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17. All 298 people on board were killed. AirAsia is also based in Malaysia, but Flight 8501 was operated by AirAsia Indonesia, a subsidiary that is 49 percent owned by the Malaysian parent company. So technically it is an Indonesian airline, but the AirAsia brand is closely tied to the people of Malaysia.

Q: Is there a connection between all these crashes?

A: No. It's just a very unfortunate year for Southeast Asia. But that doesn't stop conspiracy theories from sprouting. New ideas about what happened to Flight 370 — both logical and bizarre — keep appearing. The unsolved nature of that disappearance is only going to generate more attention for Flight 8501 and create a new batch of hypothesis.

Q: How far could the jet have flown?

A: Looking at the flight's paperwork, the plane had more than 18,000 pounds of jet fuel at takeoff, enough to fly about 3 1/2 hours, according to Phil Derner Jr., the founder of aviation enthusiast website NYCAviation.com and a flight dispatcher for a U.S. airline. He notes that's less fuel than most flights tend to carry from New York to Florida.

Q: Is the Airbus A320 a safe jet?

A: The plane is a workhorse of modern aviation. Similar to the Boeing 737, the single-aisle, twin-engine jet is used to connect cities anywhere from one to five hours apart. There are 3,606 A320s in operation worldwide, according to Airbus. The company also manufactures nearly identical versions of the plane — the smaller A318 and A319 and the stretched A321. An additional 2,486 of those jets are also flying. The A320 family of jets has a very good safety record, with just 0.14 fatal accidents per million takeoffs, according to the Boeing safety study.

Q: What about AirAsia?

A: Low-cost AirAsia has a strong presence in most of Southeast Asia and recently expanded into India. Most of its flights are just a few hours long, connecting one city to another. It has tried to expand into long-distance flying through its sister airline AirAsia X. None of its subsidiaries has lost a plane before, and it has a generally good safety track record. However, it does fly in a part of the world where air travel has expanded faster than the number of qualified pilots, mechanics and air traffic controllers.

Q: What about flying in Indonesia?

A: The country has had a bumpy safety record. In 2007, the crash rate and safety standards were so bad that the European Union prohibited all of Indonesia's airlines from flying into any of its member countries. Than ban was lifted Aug. 17, 2009; however, Indonesia's main airline — quickly growing Lion Air — is still banned by the EU.

Q: How vital is air travel to the region?

A: For many people, it's the only option. Indonesia is a sprawling archipelago nation of 250 million people. To get from one island to another, the easiest way is to fly. As the economy has taken off in the region, so have the number of people flying. The International Air Transport Association recently named Indonesia as one of the five fastest growing air travel markets in the world, predicting an additional 183 million passengers would take to the sky in the next two decades.

Furthermore, routes to, from and within the Asia-Pacific region are predicted by the industry trade group to see an extra 1.8 billion annual passengers by 2034, for an overall market size of 2.9 billion. Within two decades, the region is projected to account for 42 percent of global passenger traffic.

The increase in regional airline traffic reflects rapid economic growth. The International Monetary Fund expects the Southeast Asian economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to collectively expand 4.7 percent in 2014 and 5.4 percent next year — a growth rate behind only China, India and sub-Saharan Africa.

"It is the only region in the world with as many aircraft on order as in service," Brendan Sobie, analyst at the CAPA Centre for Aviation, a consultancy in Sydney, said by email. "So the growth seems set to continue."

Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott .

Associated Press writer Paul Wiseman contributed to this report from Washington.

Air Asia Plane With 162 On Board Missing In Indonesia

A relative of AirAsia flight QZ8501 passengers weeps as she waits for the latest news on the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with 162 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from the provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (AP) — A massive sea search was underway for an AirAsia plane that disappeared Sunday while flying from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people on board through airspace possibly thick with dense storm clouds, strong winds and lightning, officials said.

More than 12 hours later, shocked family members huddled at the Surabaya airport from where the Airbus A320 had taken off, awaiting any news of the jetliner operated by an airline whose parent company is based in Malaysia. It is the third incident involving Malaysia this year following two of the worst aviation tragedies that hit Malaysia Airlines -- in March Flight 370 disappeared with 239 people and in July Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on it.

Indonesia and Singapore launched a search and rescue operation for Flight 8501 near Belitung island in Java Sea over which the jetliner lost contact with ground traffic control, about 42 minutes after taking off from Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city. The flight had completed a little less than half of its journey time to Singapore.

"We hope we can find the location of the plane as soon as possible, and we hope that God will give us guidance to find it," Djoko Murjatmodjo, Indonesia's acting director general of transportation, told reporters. "We don't dare to presume what has happened except that it has lost contact,"

He said the last communication between the pilot and air traffic control was at 6:13 a.m. (2313 GMT Saturday) when the pilot "asked to avoid clouds by turning left and going higher to 34,000 feet (10,360 meters)." It was last seen on radar at 6:16 a.m., and a minute later was no longer there, he said.

He said there was no distress signal from the cockpit of the twin-engine, single-aisle plane. AirAsia, a regional low-cost carrier founded in 2001 by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes, said in a statement that the plane was on the submitted flight plan route. However, it had requested deviation due to weather before communication with the aircraft was lost while it was still under the control of Indonesian Air Traffic Control.

AirAsia, which has a presence in most of Southeast Asia and recently in India, has never lost a plane before and has a good safety track record. Sunardi, a weather forecaster at the Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency who uses only one name, said dense storm clouds were detected up to 44,000 feet in the same area at the time the plane was reported to have lost contact.

"There could have been turbulence, lightning and vertical as well as horizontal strong winds within such clouds," he said. The plane had an Indonesian captain and a French co-pilot, five cabin crew and 155 passengers, including 16 children and one infant, AirAsia Indonesia said in a statement. Among the passengers were three South Koreans and one each from Singapore, Malaysia. The rest were Indonesians.

It said the captain had a total of 6,100 flying hours, a substantial number, and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours. At Surabaya airport, dozens of relatives sat in a room, many of them talking on mobile phones and crying. Some looked dazed. As word spread, more and more family members were arriving at the crisis center to await word.

Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters in Surabaya that search and rescue efforts now involved the Indonesian army, the national Search and Rescue Agency as well as Singapore and Malaysia. The Search and Rescue Agency's operation chief, Maj. Gen. Tatang Zaenudin, said 200 rescuers had been deployed to the east side of Belitung island.

Air Force spokesman Hadi Tjahjanto said three aircraft, including a surveillance plane, had been dispatched to the area. The Singapore air force and the navy also were searching with two C-130 planes.

Airbus said in a statement that the aircraft was delivered to AirAsia in October 2008, which would make it six years old. It said the plane had accumulated about 23,000 flight hours in some 13,600 flights. AirAsia said the aircraft had last undergone scheduled maintenance on Nov. 16.

Malaysia-based AirAsia, which has dominated cheap travel in the region for years, flies short routes of just a few hours, connecting large cities of Southeast Asia. However, recently it has tried to expand into long-distance flying through its sister airline AirAsia X. AirAsia Malaysia owns 49 percent of its subsidiary, AirAsia Indonesia.

Fernandes, who is the face of AirAsia and an active Twitter user, sent out a tweet saying: "Thank you for all your thoughts and prays. We must stay strong." He tweeted later that he was heading to Surabaya.

Fernandes stirred controversy earlier this year after incorrectly tweeting that Malaysia Airlines flight 370, now synonymous with one of aviation's enduring mysteries, had landed safely. The wide-bodied Boeing 777 disappeared soon after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8. It remains missing until this day with 239 people.

Another Malaysia Airlines flight, also a Boeing 777, was shot down over rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17. A total of 298 people on board were killed.

William Waldock, an expert on air crash search and rescue with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, cautioned against drawing comparisons to the disappearance of Malaysia flight 370.

"I think we have to let this play out," he said. "Hopefully, the airplane will get found, and if that happens, it will probably be in the next few hours. Until then, we have to reserve judgment." The circumstances bode well for finding the plane since the intended flight time was less than two hours and there is a known position at which the plane disappeared, he said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, expressed solidarity with AirAsia. In a tweet he said: "Very sad to hear that AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501 is missing. My thoughts are with the families. Malaysia stands ready to help."

President Barack Obama, who was vacationing in Hawaii, was briefed Sunday evening on the plane's disappearance, and officials were tracking the situation, the White House said. The Airbus A320 is a workhorse of modern aviation. Similar to the Boeing 737, it is used to connect cities anywhere from one to five hours apart. There are currently 3,606 A320s in operation worldwide, according to Airbus. The A320 family of jets, which includes A319 and A321, has a very good safety record, with just 0.14 fatal accidents per million takeoffs, according to a safety study published by Boeing in August.

It's too early to say what might have caused a crash, but the safest part of a trip is when a plane is flying at its cruising elevation. Just 10 percent of fatal crashes from 2004 through 2013 occurred while a plane was in that stage of flight, according to the August Boeing safety report.

However, in 2007, an Indonesia-owned Adam Air flight carrying 102 people vanished during a domestic flight. Debris was found a few days later, but much of the fuselage remains on the ocean floor. In 1995, another Indonesian plane, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, also disappeared over open water while flying between islands in the archipelago nation. The 14 crew and passengers were never found.

Passing through bad weather, such as severe thunderstorms, could have been a factor. Airbus jets are very sophisticated and are able to automatically adjust to wind shears or other weather disruptions. However, weather has played a role in past air disasters that occurred at cruise elevation, including the 2009 Air France Flight 447 crash over the Atlantic Ocean.

Another possibility is some type of catastrophic metal fatigue caused by the cycle of pressurization and depressurization associated with each takeoff and landing cycle - something that flight 8501 would have done a lot. Still, metal fatigue is unlikely because this plane is only six years old.

__ Associated Press writers Joan Lowy in Austin, TX, Scott Mayerowitz in New York and Lori Hinnant in Paris contributed to this report.