Lee, Susilo agree to tackle issues rationally

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.