Growth with regional stability, peace

Growth with regional stability, peace

Aware of the fact that regional stability and peace is of
utmost important for the country's growth, the Malaysian
government continues to adopt its neutral foreign policy and to
resolve through peaceful and friendly means in settling issues
with its neighbors, especially with the other five member
countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
in which Malaysia is also a member.

For example, Malaysia has worked with Singapore to settle the
ownership of Batu Puteh as it has done with Indonesia on the
Sipadan and Ligitan Islands, off southeast Borneo, which have
been long managed by Kuala Lumpur.

It did likewise with the Philippines over Sabah.

In 1992, it reached an agreement with Vietnam to jointly
develop parts of the Spratlys, a group of oil-rich islands chain
in the South China Sea which is also claimed either partly or
wholly by Brunei, China, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

Relations with ASEAN members have been continually
strengthened. As a matter of fact, Kuala Lumpur has announced its
good will to expedite its timetable for meeting requirement of
ASEAN Free Trade AREA (AFTA), in which it will protect only its
most strategic industries for a ten-year period instead of the
15-year period set by AFTA.

Particularly with Indonesia, the two countries have made great
strides in trade and technological cooperation when they signed
agreements on investment guarantee and extension of trade
cooperation early this year, during which Indonesia announced its
willingness to buy the Malaysian-made aviation components for its
state-owned IPTN aircraft industry.

In the financial sector, the two countries made an important
breakthrough when Indonesia's market authority and the Malaysian
Securities Commission agreed to promote cooperation both in the
trading system and in the improvement of professionalism among
market players.

Counter-trade deals were also made last May, under which the
Bandung-based IPTN was to export six CN-235 transport planes to
Malaysia as a barter for the 2,500 Proton Saga cars.

Originated from the Malay race and inherited with many similar
traditions, the majority of both Malaysians and Indonesians
surely have many things in common, enabling them to communicate
much more easily than they do with people of different race.

Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur have also cooperated well in settling
the problems of illegal Indonesian workers in Malaysia. The two
countries have undertaken joint naval operations to crackdown the
sending of illegal workers to Malaysia.