I wonder if recent attention from ICAO is an explanation for the tough posturing of Indonesian authorities.
Some years ago there was concern that Australia's regulator (CASA) wasn't sufficiently resourced to carry out its functions. It may have been coincidence, but shortly after this CASA took a very tough line temporarily grounding an airline.
ICAO Secretary General Conducts Official Visits in Indonesia
MONTREAL, 3 December 2014 – ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin was in the Republic of Indonesia earlier this month, where he held high-level discussions with local officials, including the Minister of Transportation, H.E. Ignasius Jonan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Retno L.P. Marsudi, the Acting Director General of Civil Aviation, Bambang Tjahyono, and other high-ranking members of the Indonesian Government.
Benjamin spoke during the Opening Ceremonies of the ICAO Air Service Negotiation Event (ICAN 2014) which took place this year from 17–21 November 2014 in Bali. The meeting was also addressed by the Minister of Transportation of Indonesia, the Acting Director General of Civil Aviation, and the Executive Director for Operational Programmes and Institutional Relations of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), M. Favilla L. de Paula.
Indonesia Struggles With Air Safety Oversight - WSJ
Despite more than seven years of concerted international help to improve the Indonesian government’s air-safety oversight, its system still ranks among the worst in national audits conducted by a United Nations agency.
Countries that have been scored higher by the International Civil Aviation Organization on the overall effectiveness of their aviation laws, regulations and monitoring efforts include tiny players such Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
Regulators in Jakarta now oversee a global aviation powerhouse with domestic airlines operating nearly 400 jets—carrying more than 50 million passengers annually—but results of the country’s latest ICAO audit are more comparable with those for Guinea or Latvia, nations with limited aviation activity.
In a statement Monday, Indonesia’s Transport Ministry said “it’s not true that Indonesia is one of the world’s most hazardous in terms of aviation.” The statement also said airlines “are required to have internal quality and safety inspectors licensed by” regulators, who perform “routine and periodic audits every two years, and surveillance every month.”