RI and Malaysia sign agreement on Island dispute

By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Indonesia and Malaysia signed an agreement yesterday to jointly submit the dispute over the Sipadan and Ligitan islands to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), thereby avoiding the impression of one litigating the other.

The agreement formally affirms a commitment by the two countries' leaders to settle the dispute peacefully through third-party arbitration.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting, by Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas and his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Badawi.

Alatas described the signing as an historic occasion. "It is the first time that our two countries have ever agreed on ... a court settlement for a dispute between them," he said.

The dispute over the two tiny islands, located just off the northeast coast of Kalimantan, first arose in 1969. Both countries claim sovereignty over the islands based on their colonial inheritance.

Meeting since 1991 a joint bilateral committee has failed to reach a compromise on the issue.

During a visit to Malaysia last year, Indonesia's President Soeharto and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad agreed to take the matter to the ICJ.

Despite the dispute, both countries have committed themselves to a peaceful resolution and not to allow it to strain their close bilateral ties.

Minor irritations have arisen due to Malaysia's occasional advertising of the islands as a holiday destination.

According to Alatas, the amicability and method of settling the dispute "reflects the maturity of the relationship" between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.

Under the agreement both countries agreed to let the ICJ arbitrate ownership of the islands.

Earlier this year, senior officials also wrapped up the technicalities of the dispute which would be taken to arbitration.

However, before going to the ICJ, the two countries will now have to first ratify the treaty.

The two countries also agreed their readiness to accept the decision of the ICJ as final and binding.

Both Alatas and Badawi lauded the agreement as an example of peaceful dispute resolution.

Alatas said it showed to the world that a bilateral dispute going back several decades could be settled in a peaceful way.

Badawi echoed the remarks. "I am strongly convinced that the decision to resolve the issue on the basis of international law could set a precedent for other countries to follow," he said.

Malaysia currently has overlapping territorial claims with most countries in ASEAN.

Commenting on how this agreement could possibly be used as a model for settling claims in the South China Sea, Alatas noted that the situation there was more complex than the one faced by Indonesia and Malaysia.

The overlapping claims in the South China Sea involves six countries -- China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia. Indonesia, though not directly involved, has held workshops on the South China Sea to forge cooperation between the disputing parties.

The most important point, Alatas said, was the commitment and initiative from the claimant countries themselves not to exacerbate the situation and a willingness to find a diplomatic compromise.