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.