RI and Australia to sign maritime agreement

RI and Australia to sign maritime agreement

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Australia are to sign a maritime
agreement Friday delineating the continental shelf and their
Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in three areas.

The agreement will be signed by Indonesian foreign minister
Ali Alatas and his counterpart Alexander Downer in Perth, Western
Australia. Also present at the ceremony will be West Australia
Premier Richard Court.

The agreement sets out the continental shelf and EEZ between
Java and Australia's Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

It also defines the EEZ in the Arafura and Timor seas.

This is the fourth agreement between Indonesia and Australia
which defining maritime boundaries between the two neighboring
states.

The first was signed in 1971 and defined the continental shelf
in the Arafura sea; the second, signed a year later, was on the
continental shelf in the western part of the Timor sea, the third
was the controversial agreement on the Timor Gap signed in 1989.

Antara quoted the Indonesian foreign ministry's director of
foreign information Gaffar Fadyl yesterday as saying that while
in Perth, the two foreign ministers would also hold talks on
further enhancing bilateral cooperation.

Grouping

Yesterday Alatas briefed journalists on his recent visit to
Mauritius to attend the launching of the Indian Ocean Rim
Association for Regional Cooperation.

The grouping comprises Australia, India, Indonesia, Kenya,
Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore,
South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Yemen.

Its aim is to promote economic development and cooperation
among countries with Indian Ocean coastlines.

According to Alatas, Indonesia's participation in this
association falls directly in line with its national interest of
ensuring a stable and peaceful regional climate conducive to
development.

"We have succeeded in doing it in Southeast and East Asia, and
now we're looking west to ensure that there is a stable
environment there," Alatas said.

"As our experience in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations) shows, stability and security is often generated
and supported by mutual economic growth among countries in a
region," he added.

Alatas explained that the first meeting dealt mainly with
technical and organizational matters such as the formation of a
small secretariat and a working group to formulate criteria for
membership.

Among the countries wishing to join the grouping are
Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran and Thailand.

The meeting, held from March 5 through March 7, also set out
the framework for cooperation projects to include trade,
investment and tourism. The group also agreed to convene its next
meeting in Mozambique in 1999.

"We still have a long road ahead ... but from an economic
standpoint the grouping has a promising future because of its
large economic potential," Alatas said.

Alatas was speaking after inaugurating Abdul Ghani as the
ministry's director general for social, cultural and information
affairs, replacing Jauhari Nataatmaja who is becoming Indonesian
Ambassador to Seoul. (oby/mds)