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