East Timor claiming island in West Timor

East Timor claiming island in West Timor

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

Amid ongoing negotiations over putative Indonesian assets in East
Timor, the East Timorese government has claimed Batek island in
Kupang regency, saying it was part of Oecusi, the new country's
enclave in West Timor.

The East Timor government submitted its claim to the island
through Indonesia's representative office in Dili, capital of
East Timor.

The chief of the West Timor Military District, Col. Moeswarno
Moesanip, immediately condemned the claim, warning bluntly that
the East Timor administration should not make any new problems
with Indonesia.

"East Timor cannot claim the island just because it is near
the enclave. If we accepted such weak and groundless reasons,
they could claim West Timor as well, or even other islands in
Indonesia," he told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.

He suggested that East Timor concentrate on the ongoing
negotiations over Indonesia's claims to have assets in the new
country.

The two countries have set up a joint team to deal with the
Indonesian claims, which mostly concern state and privately owned
buildings, discuss border demarcation and seek bilateral
cooperation in all fields.

Moesanip said East Timor had never controlled the island, but
a number of East Timorese officials had visited it recently.

He said that long before East Timor's secession from
Indonesia, fishermen from West Timor had been using the island
and the national flag had been raised there in December 2002.

He said the Indonesian Military would establish a security
post on the island and deploy some troops there.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet A. Tallo concurred and said
East Timor had no legal or historical grounds to claim the
island.

"The recent visit by East Timorese officials to the island was
for tourism purposes. Foreigners are allowed to visit the island
to enjoy its beauty, but it belongs to Indonesia," he said.