Lee, Susilo agree to tackle issues rationally
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong agreed here on Monday to avoid megaphone diplomacy in dealing with bilateral issues.
Beaming from bilateral talks that lasted for more than one hour, the President said the two heads of government agreed to tackle outstanding problems rationally, quietly and in a manner that would foster win-win solutions.
"We are mindful of the fact that several outstanding bilateral issues should be managed properly. I am referring to the issues of the demarcation of the territorial seas, the extradition treaty, and sand mining and its export," Susilo said in the press conference after the meeting.
Lee arrived here on Monday afternoon for a two-day visit and is scheduled on Tuesday to meet with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nurwahid, House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono and Regional Representatives Council Speaker Ginandjar Kartasasmita.
Officials here have often accused Singapore of providing a safe haven for corrupters and other white-collar criminals fleeing justice by declining to sign an extradition treaty with Indonesia.
Singapore has also been accused of buying sand illegally mined from Indonesia for its sea reclamation project, which also affects the demarcation of the seas between the two countries.
"We are of the view that Indonesia-Singapore relations are generally sound and stable. We agree to remain actively engaged in these important issues that we need to find just and appropriate solutions to in a neighborly fashion," Susilo said.
"On my part, I expressed the hope that a Joint Cooperation Council could be established in the near future so that it can start working on a wide range of bilateral issues," the President said.
Lee said that the two countries agreed to avoid megaphone diplomacy and not to negotiate through the press in resolving bilateral issues.
"We discussed the best way to do this, and one of these issues which we concluded was, it is best to do these things rationally, quietly out of the public eye rather than to negotiate through the media or what is sometimes called megaphone diplomacy," Lee said.
He stressed that megaphone diplomacy would only complicate the problems and put off investors as they would see the overall situation before deciding whether this was a favorable investment environment.
"We want to make sure that everybody understands that the overall tone of the relationship between Singapore and Indonesia is a positive one," Lee said.
During the meeting the two leaders also discussed cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, technology, tourism, transnational crime, terrorism and the Malacca Strait.
On investment issues, Singapore called for discussions on an investment guarantee agreement, which would give a framework and the assurance for investors from both countries. The agreement should stipulate privileges, obligations and protection.
The two leaders also assigned their economic ministers to look into other possible avenues of concrete cooperation between the two countries and to report back to them within the next three months.