RI, Malaysia to avoid repeat of gunboat incident

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi have agreed to act to prevent a repeat of last week's incident in which naval ships from the two countries brushed against each other in a disputed, oil-rich maritime area.

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said both leaders have also agreed not to engage in a "war of words" in relation to the dispute over the maritime area -- referred to as Ambalat by Indonesia -- in the Sulawesi Sea.

"The President has agreed with PM Badawi that such an incident will not occur again and that a war of words should not break out at diplomatic levels," Juwono said.

"What's important is that both sides show restraint," he added after a meeting in Jakarta with the President and National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar on Monday.

Juwono said Susilo had ordered all relevant authorities not to engage in "unnecessary quarrels and diplomatic tension" with the Malaysian government over Friday's collisions between Indonesia's warship KRI Tedung Naga and Malaysia's Rencong.

The minister said Indonesia would continue with construction of a lighthouse and its routine patrol operations in Ambalat in a bid to "protect our territory".

"Our move in Ambalat is correct. Now, (the number of) Malaysian ships in Ambalat has decreased. They (Malaysia), at the negotiation table, have said that our position is stronger than their's," Juwono claimed.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto urged Malaysia not to "take provocative actions" against Indonesian troops patrolling Ambalat waters.

"Should they insist on claiming it as their territory, they should avoid taking provocative actions," he said.

Endriartono said the TNI would maintain its operations in Ambalat and asserted that it was ready to face the worst.

"We are prepared. Should anything happen, we will strengthen our forces. We are ready for that but I don't want any further incidents because it may endanger peace there," he said.

Endriartono said the military did not expect a war with Malaysia because "it would endanger both countries".

The two countries have been locked in the territorial dispute since February after the Malaysian government awarded a contract to Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell to develop deep water oil fields in the Sulawesi Sea.

The Malaysian and Indonesian governments have repeatedly resolved to resolve the case peacefully. Last month, officials from the two countries met at the resort island of Bali to discuss the issue. They plan to meet again in May.

The Indonesian government, which last year awarded exploration rights on one block to U.S.-based oil firm Unocal Corp., says the blocks awarded by Malaysian state oil firm Petronas are not in territory controlled by Malaysia.

The two countries have locked horns over the region before. A dispute over the ownership of Sipadan and Ligitan islands ended in December 2002 with the International Court of Justice ruling that the islands belonged to Malaysia.

The TNI and certain nationalist politicians are very sensitive about territorial disputes, especially after the loss of East Timor that voted to break away from Indonesia in 1999.