Sipadan-Ligitan dispute

Sipadan-Ligitan dispute

In a hearing in the House of Representatives on Friday,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas made it clear that the
dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over the islands Sipadan
and Ligitan would be resolved through political channels.

We must welcome the minister's statement. At the very least,
every effort must be made to settle the dispute between the two
neighboring countries. We cannot let it drag on indefinitely.

The government must have favored this option after careful
consideration of all its weaknesses and merits. Both countries
involved are members of ASEAN and both have pioneered the birth
of this regional organization. So far, ASEAN is considered
successful because it has always been able to resolve the
problems that have arisen within the organization and thereby
prevented conflicts from erupting.

What we would like to know is whether the same option has been
chosen by the Malaysian government. Of course we would like to
hear the comments of the Malaysian foreign minister. As long as
we have not heard anything from our neighbor we will still have
to make our calculations.

The kind of comment we would like to hear is of course one
that opts for a peaceful conflict resolution in order that both
Indonesia and Malaysia may implement the Zone of Peace, Freedom
and Neutrality concept in Southeast Asia.

-- Surabaya Post