RI to open three sea-lanes for international passage

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said yesterday that Indonesia would open three north-south sea-lanes to international shipping next year and that another east-west sea passage was also under consideration.

Alatas said the Maritime Safety Committee of the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) had officially adopted the three archipelagic sea-lanes proposed by Indonesia on May 19.

Upon the opening of the lanes, foreign shipping, including military vessels, will be able sail freely through the three passages without prior permission. They, however, will not be allowed to travel outside the established lanes.

Previously, each ship had to request prior permission from Indonesian officials and provide its proposed route.

"It is hoped that next year, these three archipelagic sea- lanes will be fully operational and respected by all countries," Alatas told a news conference at his office.

Alatas was accompanied by Navy Chief Adm. Arief Kushariadi, the foreign ministry's Director General of Political Affairs Nugroho Wisnumurti, Ambassador-at-large on Sea/Maritime Law Hasjim Djalal and the Navy's head of hydrology and oceanography, Commodore Nicolas P. Elok.

Alatas said only technical details, such as laws covering the setting up of a monitoring, surveillance and control mechanism, remained to be worked out.

The three lanes will allow international passage of vessels and overhead flights through the archipelago on a north and south axis.

One route lies through the Sunda and Karimata straits leading to the South China Sea, while a second runs through the Lombok and Makassar straits leading to the Celebes Sea.

The third lane connects the seas of Sawu, Timor and Arafura to the Pacific Ocean through the Leti Strait, the Banda Sea and the Moluccas Sea.

Alatas said several countries had been pressing for sea-lanes that traversed an east-west axis of the archipelago.

"But, we believe that for the time being, the three north- south sea-lanes will be sufficient." Alatas said.

"We are not closing the door altogether on looking into the possibility of an east-west sea-lane passage, but as of now we believe that there is an understanding between us and the major maritime users. We will see how the three north-south sea-lanes function," he added.

Hasjim said flights would also be allowed along the sea-lanes and that submarines would not have to sail on the surface.

The establishment of the sea-lanes were required under the recognition of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of Indonesia's archipelagic concept.

Seas within an archipelagic state are considered the state's territory, where foreign vessels must obtain the permission of state authorities.

Indonesia covers a land mass of 1.9 million square kilometers and has territorial waters of nearly four times that size. (byg)