Sipadan and Ligitan long listed on RI map

Sipadan and Ligitan long listed on RI map

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strengthened
yesterday its claim on Sipadan and Ligitan, two small islands off
East Kalimantan currently being disputed by Indonesia and
Malaysia.

"Our maps have always incorporated the two islands, but they
(Malaysia) only started to put Sipadan and Ligitan on their maps
in 1969," Director General of Political Affairs Izhar Ibrahim
told a hearing with the House of Representatives.

Izhar pointed out that Malaysia's claim over the two islands
only came after Indonesia reasserted its ownership in 1967.

Two years later, Malaysia put Sipadan and Ligitan on its maps
as part of its territory and in 1983 enforced its claim through a
state law.

"This shows that before 1969, Malaysia had no objection to our
claim over the islands. This is our trump card," he said in
response to questions from Commission I legislators, who deal
with foreign policy and national security.

Press reports from Kuala Lumpur this week suggested that
Malaysia was considering a new protest after learning that
Indonesia had incorporated the two islands in its latest maps.

"The new map is only a redefinition or confirmation of the
previous one now that we have the law of the sea as a reference,"
Izhar said, adding that Indonesia had not yet received any formal
Malaysian protest.

Indonesia's map is based on a 1891 agreement between Britain
and the Netherlands, the respective colonial rulers of Malaysia
and Indonesia, which recognized the two islands as part of Dutch
territory, or present-day Indonesia.

The last round of talks to resolve the sovereignty of the two
islands last June ended in a stalemate. Malaysia suggested
arbitration through the United Nation's International Court of
Justice but Indonesia insisted that the matter be resolved
through the ASEAN's high court -- an institution that to this day
has never been put to use.

Legislators at the hearing questioned Izhar about Indonesia's
refusal to go to the UN court, to which he replied: "It's not
that we are afraid, but we feel that there is still a chance of
solving the issue bilaterally or informally." (pwn/mds)