Governor wants extra troops in Maluku

AMBON, Maluku: Maluku Governor Karel Albert Rahalalu has asked the Indonesian Military (TNI) to deploy an additional battalion along Maluku's borders to prevent outlying islands from being claimed by neighboring countries.

"We have to be alert. We have to keep the islands that we have secure, and not let them fall into the hands of other countries," he said on Thursday. He was apparently referring to the Sipadan and Ligitan islands, which both Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur claimed but were awarded to Malaysia by an international tribunal.

The current dispute between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur over the Ambalat oil blocks should also serve as a lesson, the governor said.

He said Indonesia must be most vigilant with the islands of Lirang and Kambing, near the maritime border with East Timor, and the Wetar, Yamdena and Aru islands, near the maritime border with Australia.

Currently, these islands are being monitored by just one platoon of soldiers. -- JP