In 1975, Moerdani became deeply involved with the matter of East Timor's decolonization. In August 1975, Moerdani began sending Indonesian soldiers under the guise of volunteers to begin infiltrating East Timor. The situation intensified on 28 November 1975 when Fretilin declared East Timor's independence. The intelligence operation ceased and a military operation, Operation "Seroja" (Operation Lotus) was set up in its stead. Despite it not being an intelligence operation, Moerdani continued to be involved, this time as the planner of the invasion. His method in planning the invasion drew the ire of colleagues because it kept some high command officers, such as Deputy ABRI Commander Surono and Kostrad Commander Leo Lopulisa in the dark when they should have been involved in the planning process.