Not collisions but brushes, say RI and Malaysian navies
Not collisions but brushes, say RI and Malaysian navies
Agencies, Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur
Indonesian and Malaysian authorities have denied media reports that their naval ships collided near the Ambalat offshore oil field in the Sulawesi Sea, which both countries claim is their territory.
Some Jakarta media, quoting Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and/or Navy chief of staff Adm. Slamet Subianto, had described Friday's incident off East Kalimantan as "collisions" as the Indonesian patrol boat tried to drive the Malaysian vessel out of its territorial waters.
However, the Malaysian and Indonesian navies said on Sunday their ships had been involved in a series of "brushes" near the disputed area.
"That's not a collision," Indonesian Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Guntur Wahyudi was quoted by Reuters as saying. "A brush would be more appropriate. It was caused by the vortex of sea water from the ships, which pulled the two together, but that's not a problem, no significant damage was caused."
"The Malaysian ship violated our waters, because it was traveling 500 meters off Karang Unarang," said the spokesman, "They often provoke us, but we stand by our orders not to react," he added.
Malaysian navy chief Adm. Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Nor confirmed the two vessels -- Indonesia's KRI Tedung Naga and Malaysia's KD Rencong -- only "brushed" each other.
Mohamed Anwar said there were no injuries or damage, AP reported on Sunday.
Adm. Slamet Soebijanto had said the Malaysian ship had been trying to disrupt the construction of a lighthouse close to the disputed Ambalat, located near Sipadan and Ligitan islands, which Indonesia lost to Malaysia in a legal battle in the International Court of Justice in December 2002.
Some local newspapers reported that the vessels had collided three times on Friday but no one had been hurt on either side.
Jakarta sent warships and fighter jets to the possibly oil- rich area last month after the dispute flared up again. The two governments have agreed to resolve matters peacefully.
Both countries rely heavily on oil and gas for revenue and each have awarded exploration contracts in the disputed area.
Last year, Indonesia awarded one to U.S.-based oil firm Unocal Corp. Malaysia recently granted exploration rights to Anglo-Dutch oil firm Royal Dutch/Shell, prompting a tense standoff between the two navies. Each side accused the other of trespassing and violating maritime borders.
Exploration work is yet to begin.
The Indonesian Military and some politicians are sensitive to territorial rifts after the loss of East Timor. The former Portuguese colony voted to break away from Indonesia in 1999.