RI awaits Shell's response over Ambalat
RI awaits Shell's response over Ambalat
Rendi A. Witular and Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Indonesia is still waiting for a response from Dutch company
Shell in the matter of the oil-rich Ambalat maritime area, a
senior official said in Jakarta.
Jakarta issued a warning to Shell demanding that it explain
why it obtained concession rights to explore oil in Indonesian
territory from Malaysia's national oil and gas company Petronas.
The Ambalat area, located in the Sulawesi Sea, is claimed by
both Indonesia and Malaysia.
Arif Havaz Oegroseno, director for international treaties and
legal affairs on economic and social cultural issues at the
ministry of foreign affairs, said the government was still
waiting for Shell's reply.
"Let's see (their reaction)," Havaz, who is also the head of
Indonesia's negotiation team on the Ambalat dispute, said on
Thursday.
Malaysia's Petronas granted concession rights to Shell on Feb.
16 for the exploration of hydrocarbon deposits in ND6 and ND7 oil
blocks in Sulawesi Sea.
Indonesia, which claims the area as its territory, launched a
protest against the government of Malaysia over its unilateral
claim on Ambalat waters.
Havaz said that the government had also sent a letter to Shell
asking for the company not to interfere in Indonesia's internal
matters and jurisdictions.
"Therefore, we ask Shell to stop its operations in Ambalat
waters," he said.
"We have told Shell that Indonesia will take firm action
against it if it engages in any activities in our waters," Havaz
said.
"Shell said that they will not interfere our affairs and will
seriously consider Indonesia's demand," he said, without
elaborating the actions that would be taken should Shell not meet
Indonesia's demands.
Havaz added that the government would strongly reject
suggestions for joint cooperation in the Ambalat area.
He said that Indonesia was in a strong position to prove that
Ambalat waters were part of Indonesia's territory based on
international maritime law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention
on the Law of the Sea.
"No way, Minister Hassan Wirayuda (Foreign Minister) has
stated that there will be no joint cooperation (in Ambalat),"
Havaz said.
"We can not apply joint cooperation in the Sulawesi Sea. We
have been there a long time. In Ambalat itself we have conducted
exploration activities," he said.
This week technical teams from Indonesia and Malaysia met for
first time to discuss Sulawesi Sea issues.
Havaz said that the two sides had agreed to hold meetings
every two months to resolve disputes in the Sulawesi Sea. The two
teams are scheduled to meet in Malaysia in May.
In another development, Hassan asserted that the Ambalat row
between Indonesia and Malaysia could not be resolved with only
one meeting but expressed his optimism that negotiations would
not be prolonged.
"Don't make the assumption that the meeting was a failure.
Such a decision cannot be reached after just one meeting," Hassan
told reporters at the Merdeka Palace.
"I did not intend to give a pessimistic impression, but
negotiations on the continental border between Indonesia and
Vietnam took 32 years. We, of course, do not want this to happen
in the Ambalat case," he said.