Malaysia, Indonesia in talks again to end 25-year dispute on

Malaysia, Indonesia in talks again to end 25-year dispute on isles

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia and Indonesia launched talks yesterday for the second time this year to resolve overlapping claims on two Southeast Asian islands which have strained ties for a quarter of a century, officials said.

The meeting of the Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Commission will pursue an agreement in January to exchange relevant treaties, conventions and understandings on the Sipadan and Ligitan islands off southeast Borneo, they said.

The three-day meeting among 60 senior officials would also discuss bilateral economic cooperation and security problems.

"Both countries must strive to arrive at lasting solutions to their problems .... lest they affect existing close relations," said Ahmad Kamil Jaafar, Kuala Lumpur's chief negotiator.

Kamil, secretary-general of Malaysia's foreign ministry, said the negotiators would try to solve the 25-year-old dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia on the ownership of the islands, long managed by Kuala Lumpur.

Documents and maps on the isles were exchanged by both sides during a separate conference in January, officials said.

Malaysian officials said they had agreed with their Indonesian counterparts to resolve the dispute through diplomatic channels.

Officials said the illegal migration of Indonesian Acehnese refugees to Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur's labor imports from Jakarta would also feature in the talks.

Other issues to be pursued during the talks were related to trade, investment, tourism, air services, technology and information, officials said, adding that growth areas promoted by the two nations with Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines would also be studied.

Indonesia's foreign affairs department head Azhar Ibrahim is leading the Jakarta team to the talks, whose conclusions were scheduled to be endorsed soon.