RI awaits Shell's response over Ambalat<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular and Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia is still waiting for a response from Dutch company
\nShell in the matter of the oil-rich Ambalat maritime area, a
\nsenior official said in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Jakarta issued a warning to Shell demanding that it explain
\nwhy it obtained concession rights to explore oil in Indonesian
\nterritory from Malaysia's national oil and gas company Petronas.<\/p>\n
The Ambalat area, located in the Sulawesi Sea, is claimed by
\nboth Indonesia and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Arif Havaz Oegroseno, director for international treaties and
\nlegal affairs on economic and social cultural issues at the
\nministry of foreign affairs, said the government was still
\nwaiting for Shell's reply.<\/p>\n
\"Let's see (their reaction),\" Havaz, who is also the head of
\nIndonesia's negotiation team on the Ambalat dispute, said on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's Petronas granted concession rights to Shell on Feb.
\n16 for the exploration of hydrocarbon deposits in ND6 and ND7 oil
\nblocks in Sulawesi Sea.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, which claims the area as its territory, launched a
\nprotest against the government of Malaysia over its unilateral
\nclaim on Ambalat waters.<\/p>\n
Havaz said that the government had also sent a letter to Shell
\nasking for the company not to interfere in Indonesia's internal
\nmatters and jurisdictions.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, we ask Shell to stop its operations in Ambalat
\nwaters,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We have told Shell that Indonesia will take firm action
\nagainst it if it engages in any activities in our waters,\" Havaz
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Shell said that they will not interfere our affairs and will
\nseriously consider Indonesia's demand,\" he said, without
\nelaborating the actions that would be taken should Shell not meet
\nIndonesia's demands.<\/p>\n
Havaz added that the government would strongly reject
\nsuggestions for joint cooperation in the Ambalat area.<\/p>\n
He said that Indonesia was in a strong position to prove that
\nAmbalat waters were part of Indonesia's territory based on
\ninternational maritime law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention
\non the Law of the Sea.<\/p>\n
\"No way, Minister Hassan Wirayuda (Foreign Minister) has
\nstated that there will be no joint cooperation (in Ambalat),\"
\nHavaz said.<\/p>\n
\"We can not apply joint cooperation in the Sulawesi Sea. We
\nhave been there a long time. In Ambalat itself we have conducted
\nexploration activities,\" he said.<\/p>\n
This week technical teams from Indonesia and Malaysia met for
\nfirst time to discuss Sulawesi Sea issues.<\/p>\n
Havaz said that the two sides had agreed to hold meetings
\nevery two months to resolve disputes in the Sulawesi Sea. The two
\nteams are scheduled to meet in Malaysia in May.<\/p>\n
In another development, Hassan asserted that the Ambalat row
\nbetween Indonesia and Malaysia could not be resolved with only
\none meeting but expressed his optimism that negotiations would
\nnot be prolonged.<\/p>\n
\"Don't make the assumption that the meeting was a failure.
\nSuch a decision cannot be reached after just one meeting,\" Hassan
\ntold reporters at the Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
\"I did not intend to give a pessimistic impression, but
\nnegotiations on the continental border between Indonesia and
\nVietnam took 32 years. We, of course, do not want this to happen
\nin the Ambalat case,\" he said.<\/p>",
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