RI, KL warships collide in Ambalat

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.