Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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09JAKARTA435 | 2009-03-12 10:39:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Jakarta |
O 121039Z MAR 09 FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1816 INFO ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE NSC WASHDC USPACOM HONOLULU HI SECDEF WASHDC |
C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000435 |
1. (C) SUMMARY: Indonesia and Singapore have signed a long-awaited agreement delineating their common maritime border in a section of the Singapore Strait. The agreement promises to improve control of sea and air navigation in the Strait and aid national law enforcement efforts as well. The ratification process on the Indonesian side is a question, given the Indonesian legislature's prickly response on territorial sovereignty issues in the past. The legislature continues to refuse to ratify a defense cooperation agreement with Singapore that would give Singapore's military training rights in Indonesia. END SUMMARY. GOI-GOS BOUNDARY AGREEMENT 2. (U) The agreement covers the eastern part of the Strait, a section that is only 12.1 kilometers long, but the talks took five years and eight rounds of negotiation to complete. The boundary was determined on the basis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, to which both countries are parties. Signed by Indonesian FM Wirajuda and Singaporean FM Yeo in Jakarta on March 10, the agreement provides a legal certainty that will aid navigation and enhance respective law enforcement efforts at sea and in the air, according to commentators. 3. (U) The agreement also represents a step forward in an area of considerable sensitivity. Indonesia has in the past objected to Singapore's commercial mining of sand from small islands and waters in Indonesian territory. In addition, a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) concluded in 2007 has yet to receive ratification by the Indonesian legislature (DPR) over sovereignty concerns. DPR legislators objected to provisions allowing the Singapore Armed Forces to train and conduct extensive military exercises in Indonesian territory, including with third parties. THE PATH TOWARD RATIFICATION 4. (C) Indonesian officials and legislators are optimistic about DPR ratification. They note that Indonesian President Yudhoyono and Singaporean Prime Minister Goh welcomed the agreement at the recent ASEAN Summit in Thailand. Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) Chief General Santoso said the agreement facilitated smoother coordination of air and maritime control in the Strait. Djoko Susilo, a member of DPR's Commission I on foreign and defense affairs, told Pol/C that the agreement was fair and respected Indonesian sovereignty. He noted that DEPLU had already briefed the DPR on the matter. He therefore did not expect that there would be much difficulty in the DPR ratification process. 5. (C) Officials at the Directorate of Treaties and Legal Affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) refrained from comment regarding the chances of ratification, but told poloff that DEPLU intended to seek ratification as soon as possible because of the agreement's benefits for Strait management and safety. It was unclear whether that could be done during the final months of the current DPR session, given upcoming legislative and presidential elections, or would have to await the new session that would begin in the fall. DELINKING FROM DCA 6. (C) Officials at the Singaporean Embassy in Jakarta noted that the agreement was part of an effort that would take some time. A 1973 agreement already regulated the central part of the Strait. Following ratification of this new agreement for the western section, negotiations would begin on the more difficult eastern portion of the Strait, which also involved a border with Malaysia. 7. (C) Singaporean Embassy officials said they believed the Indonesian legislature (DPR) would ratify the agreement. The noted the negotiations had been conducted separately from the DCA and both countries benefited from the border demarcation. HEFFERN |