East Timor claiming island in West Timor<\/p>\n
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara<\/p>\n
Amid ongoing negotiations over putative Indonesian assets in East
\nTimor, the East Timorese government has claimed Batek island in
\nKupang regency, saying it was part of Oecusi, the new country's
\nenclave in West Timor.<\/p>\n
The East Timor government submitted its claim to the island
\nthrough Indonesia's representative office in Dili, capital of
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
The chief of the West Timor Military District, Col. Moeswarno
\nMoesanip, immediately condemned the claim, warning bluntly that
\nthe East Timor administration should not make any new problems
\nwith Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"East Timor cannot claim the island just because it is near
\nthe enclave. If we accepted such weak and groundless reasons,
\nthey could claim West Timor as well, or even other islands in
\nIndonesia,\" he told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.<\/p>\n
He suggested that East Timor concentrate on the ongoing
\nnegotiations over Indonesia's claims to have assets in the new
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
The two countries have set up a joint team to deal with the
\nIndonesian claims, which mostly concern state and privately owned
\nbuildings, discuss border demarcation and seek bilateral
\ncooperation in all fields.<\/p>\n
Moesanip said East Timor had never controlled the island, but
\na number of East Timorese officials had visited it recently.<\/p>\n
He said that long before East Timor's secession from
\nIndonesia, fishermen from West Timor had been using the island
\nand the national flag had been raised there in December 2002.<\/p>\n
He said the Indonesian Military would establish a security
\npost on the island and deploy some troops there.<\/p>\n
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet A. Tallo concurred and said
\nEast Timor had no legal or historical grounds to claim the
\nisland.<\/p>\n
\"The recent visit by East Timorese officials to the island was
\nfor tourism purposes. Foreigners are allowed to visit the island
\nto enjoy its beauty, but it belongs to Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/east-timor-claiming-island-in-west-timor-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}