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