Unique things in Labuan Bajo

Labuan Bajo may not be known to many people, but when it comes to Komodo dragons, everyone knows that they are in Indonesia. That is the reason why the “archipelagic nation” chose Labuan Bajo, the homeland of this giant lizard, as the venue for the 42nd ASEAN Summit.

Rare Pink Beach in Labuan Bajo. (Source: indonesia.travel)

Why Labuan Bajo?

Labuan Bajo is a beautiful town located on the western side of Flores Island, the largest island (13.79 km2) of the three main islands of East Nusa Tenggara province.

It must be said that this small tourist town is always sparkling by the sea, in the tropical sunshine, with beautiful sunrises and sunsets, chirping birds, and monkeys calling all day long. This is also home to scattered white sand beaches and a rare pink sand beach (Pink Beach), with Rangko cave with an extremely beautiful stalactite system. If you watch the sunrise on the hilltops of Padar, you can see the whole island…

Beautiful working position of reporters at ASEAN 42 at Meruorah Hotel, Labuan Bajo. (Photo: Tuan Anh)

According to 2021 data from the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration of the Indonesian Ministry of Interior, Labuan Bajo has a population of 6,973.

Since 2019, when President Joko Widodo designated Labuan Bajo as one of the country's five priority tourist destinations, large-scale infrastructure development has been undertaken, including the expansion of Komodo Airport to accommodate larger-bodied aircraft.

Now, Labuan Bajo has transformed with many luxurious five-star accommodations such as Ayana resort, Meruorah hotel, along with many small three-star hotels or homestays mixed with residential areas... Experiential services are opened such as walking on diverse terrain, playing on white sand beaches and diving in waters with colorful coral reefs and exotic aquatic creatures...

When we arrived at the time of the Summit, many infrastructure projects such as road expansion were still under construction, and the Marriot resort was under construction… showing that this island is still continuing to change. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2022, Labuan Bajo only welcomed about 60,770 international tourists, much lower than in 2019 when there were 256,609 international tourists coming here. Therefore, Indonesia's choice of this location to host ASEAN 42 clearly shows the purpose of promoting Labuan Bajo as a world-class tourist destination and the desire to be known by many people.

Komodo Dragon - symbol when mentioning Indonesia. (Source: indonesia.travel)

Home of the Komodo Dragon

The Komodo dragon, considered a descendant of prehistoric dinosaurs, is an iconic symbol of Indonesia.

Labuan Bajo is the gateway to the world-famous Komodo National Park, which includes the main islands of Komodo, Rinca, Padar, Gili Motang, Nusa Kode and several smaller islands. The conservation centre is located in the Komodo sub-region.

The Komodo dragon (scientific name: varanus komodoensis) is a giant lizard that has existed for about 40 million years. They are members of the monitor lizard genus of the varanidae family with a body length that can reach a maximum of 3m, weighing about 70kg, and are carnivores who bite their prey to death due to poisoning and bacteria.

The species is listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. There are currently only about 2,793 Komodo dragons left in the wild (down from about 4,000-5,000 in 1980) and they are found on the islands of Rinca (1,336 individuals), Komodo (1,288), Nusa Kode (86) and Gili Motang (83).

Komodo dragon statues are found in public places such as the airport, port, resorts, and accommodations of Labuan Bajo. To see this species, you will have to take a two-hour boat ride from Labuan Bajo to the reserve. However, because this is a rare species conservation area, the local government is limiting the number of visitors to no more than 50,000 people per year.

Floating hotels, field hospital ships

As mentioned above, Labuan Bajo, the venue for the 42nd ASEAN Summit, is a small island (13.7 square kilometers), so small that you can cycle around it in two hours, with a limited population and accommodation facilities. According to the host country’s estimates, the accommodation facilities can only accommodate about 2,500 guests.

Therefore, to accommodate the large number of attendants and delegates attending the conference (about 5,000 people), Indonesia had to mobilize various types of ships for logistics. This was one of the differences when the ASEAN Summit was held in Labuan Bajo.

First, the cruise ship KM Sinabung was mobilized as a “floating hotel” to accommodate the service force, some delegates of the host country, and domestic and foreign journalists.

The KM Sinabung has a total of 508 cabins, accommodating up to 1,906 passengers. The ship has toilets, prayer rooms, a clinic, restaurants, mini markets, and wifi areas to meet the needs of passengers. However, the ship does not provide food services.

In addition, local authorities also mobilized 26 sailboats and cruise ships with a total capacity of 4,200 people to serve as alternative accommodation.

Hospital ship on standby at Marina Komodo port, Labuan Bajo. (Photo: Tuan Anh)

Regarding hospitals, in addition to the upgraded district hospital in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia has also deployed a military hospital ship ready for combat at Marina Port - where ASEAN leaders had an afternoon watching the sunset at sea.

As an archipelago nation located on the world’s volcanic belt, combined with a large population, Indonesia requires mobile medical facilities at sea. The country currently has two hospital ships: KRI Dr. Radjiman Wedyodiningrat-992 (launched in early 2023) and KRI Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo (launched in 2022).

Both ships have similar medical facility specifications and are equivalent to a Type C Hospital or Regional General Hospital on land.

These 124m long ships are equipped with qualified medical facilities such as: emergency rooms, inpatient and isolation rooms, X-ray rooms, delivery and children's rooms, clinics/general clinics, laboratories, blood banks, operating rooms, and can carry three helicopters with a payload of 11 tons each.

The hospital ship is also flexible in providing relief on the islands due to the mobility of two ambulance boats, a small inflatable boat and medical staff that can approach any area of the island (like an ambulance on the mainland).

Security is tight

In preparation for the 42nd ASEAN Summit, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri) signed a cooperation agreement in “Operation Komodo 2023” to ensure security and safety for the event venue.

Security was tightened both on the island and in the sea.

National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said there are eight special forces serving at 91 command centers or operations centers for the entire security chain serving the 42nd ASEAN Summit. Monitoring of the entire movement is not only taking place at the summit service points on the island but also includes all ships passing through the waters around Labuan Bajo. According to the country's media, the forces, including two warships, are always on standby offshore.

The eight task forces are: Preemptive Task Force; Preventive Task Force; Walrolakir Task Force; Law Enforcement Task Force; Action Task Force; Counter-Terrorism Task Force; Public Affairs Task Force and Operational Support Task Force.

According to Indonesian media, the national police deployed 2,627 security personnel, along with about 1,600 police and security personnel from East Nusa Tenggara province to participate in Operation Komodo 2023.

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Indonesia estimates that this Summit can bring in 5,000 billion Rupiah (nearly 341 million USD), while promoting tourism recovery and increasing employment for micro, small and medium enterprises for the local economy.

It can be affirmed that, from the success in organizing the ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia not only wishes to promote tourism of this land with great potential but also sends the message that small locations with limited infrastructure can still successfully organize large multilateral international events of regional and international scale.