RI's trouble threatens sea-lanes: Singapore

RI's trouble threatens sea-lanes: Singapore

SINGAPORE (AP): If Indonesia's instability inspires a flood of refugees, the safety of vital shipping lanes could be threatened, Singapore's defense minister said in an interview published on Sunday.

Tony Tan, who is also deputy prime minister, said that all the Japanese ministers he had met during a trip to Japan last week had expressed great concern about Indonesia, and feared a resumption of rioting.

"If there is instability and lawlessness in Indonesia, this could lead to, for example, a greater outflow of illegal immigrants as well as threaten the safety of passage of ships in the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea," Tan said in The Sunday Times.

"This would be of very great concern to a trading nation like Japan, as well as to Singapore and other countries," Tan said.

He said Japan and Singapore had agreed to increase exchanges between their armies and navies, and send more officers to participate in each other's training courses.

"At this stage, I do not get the impression that they are looking for their armed forces to play an external role beyond the boundaries of Japan," he said.

Tan also said that Japanese officials were not concerned about the increasing defense ties between Singapore and China but were curious about Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian's recent visit to Singapore.