No crying over spilt milk

No crying over spilt milk

The sentiments of disappointment and disgrace of the
Indonesian public resulting from the loss of the two islands
Sipadan and Ligitan by virtue of the judgment of the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) of Dec. 17, 2002, found
terse expression in the title Licking our wounds of the editorial
of The Jakarta Post, Dec.19.

It cannot be denied that the vote of 16-1 marking the verdict
of ICJ could hardly be tolerated in the mind of the Indonesian
public. Nevertheless, it is encouraging that the editorial still
suggested that "there are valuable lessons to draw from the
bitter experience" of the loss of the two islands.

One lesson, at least (for consolation), is the reminder to the
Indonesian public that a number of 17,506 islands are still left
in the Indonesian possession (the Post, Dec. 16).

But few would know that, among the myriad of islands indicated
by the said number, there is one called Palmas, located between
the most northern tip of the Talaut islands and Cape San
Augustine, Mindanao. The Netherlands or the Dutch East Indies won
the acquisition of Palmas in a dispute with the United States
dated since Jan. 21, 1906, by virtue of the award of the Tribunal
of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in 1928.

Now, since Palmas came into the possession of the Dutch East
Indies, which in matters pertaining to international law was
succeeded by Indonesia, a critical question may be posed: what
has been achieved in terms of the development of the island to
the benefit of the populace?

Perhaps it would serve as a bit of relief to console for the
loss of Sipadan and Ligitan, should it be revealed that until
now, nothing much has been accomplished in the development of
Palmas since it had been won from an international adjudication
by the award of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 1928.

But another lesson which by far perhaps is the most important
pertains to the suggestion as was posed by Carolyn Hong of the
New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur, in her writing on Malaysia's
victory over Sipadan and Ligitan (the Post, Dec. 20). The two
islands will become important new bases in the calculation of the
boundaries of the Continental Shelf and the Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) east of Sabah, claimed by Malaysia.

The question is: Is the Indonesian public aware of the
importance of the Continental Shelf in terms of natural resources
(including oil and gas) and the potentialities of the EEZ? This
remains to be seen.

S. SUHAEDI, Jakarta