RI and Malaysia sign agreement on Island dispute

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.