Sipadan-Ligitan dispute<\/p>\n
In a hearing in the House of Representatives on Friday,
\nMinister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas made it clear that the
\ndispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over the islands Sipadan
\nand Ligitan would be resolved through political channels.<\/p>\n
We must welcome the minister's statement. At the very least,
\nevery effort must be made to settle the dispute between the two
\nneighboring countries. We cannot let it drag on indefinitely.<\/p>\n
The government must have favored this option after careful
\nconsideration of all its weaknesses and merits. Both countries
\ninvolved are members of ASEAN and both have pioneered the birth
\nof this regional organization. So far, ASEAN is considered
\nsuccessful because it has always been able to resolve the
\nproblems that have arisen within the organization and thereby
\nprevented conflicts from erupting.<\/p>\n
What we would like to know is whether the same option has been
\nchosen by the Malaysian government. Of course we would like to
\nhear the comments of the Malaysian foreign minister. As long as
\nwe have not heard anything from our neighbor we will still have
\nto make our calculations.<\/p>\n
The kind of comment we would like to hear is of course one
\nthat opts for a peaceful conflict resolution in order that both
\nIndonesia and Malaysia may implement the Zone of Peace, Freedom
\nand Neutrality concept in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
-- Surabaya Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sipadan-ligitan-dispute-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }