RI, KL warships collide in Ambalat

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An Indonesian warship collided with a Malaysian navy ship it was trying to drive away from the disputed oil-rich maritime area off East Kalimantan, Navy Chief Adm. Slamet Soebijanto said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono instructed the Indonesian Military to refrain from taking action against Malaysia as the two governments were currently seeking a peaceful way to resolve the territorial dispute.

Susilo immediately held a closed-door meeting with top military officials and ministers to discuss the incident at the Halim Perdakusumah Airbase upon his arrival from a three-nation overseas visit on Saturday.

"The President said that such an incident should not happen again in the future as we (Indonesia and Malaysia) have agreed to find the best way in settling the (territorial) dispute," Slamet said after the meeting.

The incident involved the Indonesia Navy ship KRI Tedung Naga Malaysia's KD Rencong.

According to the Indonesian Navy, the left side of the Indonesian ship's hull was damaged while the Malaysian ship's front was also damaged.

The navy claimed its ship was hit by the Malaysians.

"The incident occurred when our ship was patrolling off the Karang Unaran coast off East Kalimantan and tried to drive the Malaysian vessel out of our maritime territory," Slamet said.

Last month, officials from the two countries met in Jakarta to resolve the territorial dispute, which emerged in February after the Malaysian government awarded a contract to energy giant Shell to develop a deep water oil block in the Sulawesi Sea.

The Indonesian government has insisted the Ambalat oil block is outside Malaysian territory.

Warships had come into close contact several times this year before the two governments agreed to negotiate to end the dispute last month.