Minister calls for islands to be named

Minister calls for islands to be named

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: A minister called on regents and
governors on Tuesday to name at least 9,634 islands across the
nation immediately, in order to comply with the United Nations'
call.

The UN earlier requested that Indonesia name the islands by
2007 in order to, among other things, prevent border disputes
with other countries.

Freddy Numberi, the Minister of Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries, said the status of 12 of the 9,634 islands was of
particular concern as six of them bordered with other countries
and six were not occupied.

The islands have to be occupied and developed soon in order to
prevent them from falling into foreign hands, said Freddy during
his visit to Makassar.

He said Indonesia should learn from the legal battle over
Sipadan and Ligitan islands. Indonesia lost Sipadan and Ligitan
because the islands were not occupied and developed by Indonesia.
-- JP