Models involving basin-averaged T/S properties [Ffield and Gordon, 1992; Hautala et al., 1996> and barotropic/baroclinic tidal energy conversion [Sj¿berg and Stigebrandt, 1992> suggest that the Indonesia archipelago is a site of active mixing. This paper describes the first microstructure measurements made in the region. Aboard the R/V Baruna Jaya IV, we repeated 18 km legs centered on (6.5 ¿S, 128 ¿E), in the central Banda Sea, for two weeks during Oct/Nov 1998. With the Modular Microstructure Profiler, we gathered 519 profiles of potential temperature, salinity, potential density, pressure and kinetic energy dissipation rate. The cruisemean diapycnal diffusivity from 20--300 m is K&rgr;=(9.2¿0.55)¿10-6 m2s-1, similar to open ocean [Garrett and Munk, 1975> values (K&rgr;=5.1¿10-6 m2s-1), and an order of magnitue below basin- and time-averaged values obtained from the Ffield and Gordon [1992> and Hautala et al. [1996> models (K&rgr;≥1¿10-4 m2s-1). Sea-surface temperature displays some evidence of a fortnightly modulation, interpreted by Ffield and Gordon [1996> as evidence for tidal mixing, but is uncorrelated with the dissipation rate just below the mixed layer. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union