222 { China’s Quest
A critical element of China’s support for the PKI’s bid for power at this junc-
ture was a promise of safe and comfortable retirement for Sukarno in China.
Sukarno was tired and worn out. Yet he feared for his life if he threw his lot
unequivocally with the PKI. What would be his fate after he had played his role
in the transition? A comfortable and secure in China, personally guaranteed by
Mao—along the lines later granted to Cambodia’s Norodom Sihanouk—was
the solution.^72 This offer was reconfirmed to Aidit by Mao during their August
5 discussion. Accordingly, when Chen Yi traveled to Jakarta for Indonesia’s
National Day in mid-August 1965, he told Subandrio that China was prepared
to provide Sukarno with a safe and secure retirement in which he would re-
ceive necessary care from Chinese medical specialists. Beijing’s offer was con-
veyed by Aidit directly to Sukarno immediately after the PKI leader’s return to
Jakarta. Sukarno accepted the offer and ordered a loyal and progressive colonel
to begin making preparations to act against the reactionary generals.
Mao also agreed during his August 5 discussion with Aidit to provide
30,000 weapons for the initial strike against the reactionary generals This
was down from the 100,000 promised by Zhou in July—a manifestation of
China’s growing uncertainty about Sukarno’s reliability, according to Victor
Fic. Larger shipments would follow, Mao promised, once the next stage was
reached and the workers’ and peasants’ militia was ready to be armed. Air
force head Dani flew to Beijing in mid-September to expedite the shipment of
Chinese arms to Indonesia via talks with Zhou Enlai and Secretary General
Deng Xiaoping.^73 The first shipment of arms was carried by an Indonesian
Air Force C-130 transport.^74 A second shipment arrived via a Lloyd Shipping
Company ship in crates listed as “building materials” on the manifest. The
cargo was given secure clearance through customs, then stored in Indonesian
air force warehouses in and around Djakarta awaiting distribution to the
PKI’s workers’ and peasants’ army.^75
China’s handling of the arms transfers via Sukarno, Subandrio,
and Dani—Indonesia’s president, foreign minister, and air force head
respectively—rather than the PKI accorded with China’s dual-track approach.
Technically, China’s arms assistance, even though covert and carefully kept
secret from Indonesia’s army leadership, went to Indonesia’s legal, sovereign
government. Technically speaking, Beijing did not arm the PKI; it armed the
Indonesian authorities. Beijing certainly knew and approved of the PKI’s plan
to form a red army. Indeed, Beijing’s offer to supply arms, free, was intended to
encourage formation of such a force. It is virtually certain that CCP and PKI
leaders discussed strategy for the Indonesian revolution, and Beijing lauded
and encouraged the PKI struggle. Yet there is no evidence that Beijing knew
of, let alone helped plan, the calamitous PKI coup attempt that soon occurred.
The delivery of Soviet and Czechoslovak reports about Anglo-US engineer-
ing of an army coup to overthrow Sukarno prompted the PKI and its radical
military officer supporters to strike preemptively. In fact, these reports were