KL wants new talks on islands<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi
\nyesterday urged Jakarta enter into fresh talks to resolve a 25-
\nyear-old dispute over the ownership of two small islands.<\/p>\n
The dispute over the Sipadan and Ligitan islands could not be
\nresolved through demonstrations or any acts of aggression, he
\nsaid, reiterating that Jakarta could refer the dispute to a
\nbilateral joint mechanism.<\/p>\n
\"We must leave the issue to the mechanism that has been fixed
\nand not try to resolve it by way of demonstrations,\" he said,
\nreferring to the Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Commission.<\/p>\n
He was responding to recent reports that emotional Indonesian
\nMPs had put pressure on Jakarta to take a more aggressive
\napproach.<\/p>\n
Abdullah said Malaysia was prepared to continue talks despite
\nthree failed rounds of official negotiations to determine
\nownership of the islands, located near Malaysia's eastern Sabah
\nstate on Borneo island.<\/p>\n
The two governments last year pledged to avoid souring ties
\nwith their rival claims on the islands, with Kuala Lumpur
\nproposing to take the dispute to the International Court of
\nJustice in The Hague.<\/p>\n
But Jakarta prefers to exhaust diplomatic channels before
\nresorting to legal action.<\/p>\n
\"We accept their proposal as Malaysia adopts an open attitude
\nin the matter. If discussions have come to a deadlock, surely
\nthere are still ways to resolve it without getting emotional,
\nAbdullah said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kl-wants-new-talks-on-islands-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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