Indonesia will continue resolving its maritime border dispute with Malaysia through diplomatic negotiations rather than international litigation, Deputy Foreign Minister Arief Havas Oegroseno stated. The disagreement concerns overlapping claims to the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone off Borneo's eastern coast - an area Indonesia calls Ambalat and Malaysia refers to as the Sulawesi Sea.
Tensions last peaked in 2005 when Malaysia granted Shell oil exploration rights in the contested waters, leading to a military standoff between the two neighbors. "Germany and the Netherlands haven't settled their border dispute in 300 years. If they couldn't resolve it in three centuries, why should we solve ours in ten?" Oegroseno told Bloomberg. "If negotiations between Southeast Asian nations take longer, then let them take longer."
The deputy minister emphasized that border demarcation talks are among the most challenging diplomatic issues since agreements become irreversible once finalized. According to Bloomberg's analysis, Jakarta's position reflects Indonesia's broader approach to maritime disputes - prioritizing regional stability and bilateral engagement over potentially risky binding arbitration that could carry political and economic consequences.
Indonesia bases its maritime claims on the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, while Malaysia references its 1979 maritime map and a 2002 International Court of Justice ruling that granted it sovereignty over Sipadan and Ligitan islands without determining the sea boundary in the disputed area.
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Based on materials from RIA Novosti