Jakarta - Indonesia and Malaysia signed an agreement Thursday on the standard operating procedures and rules of engagement in air patrol operations along the two nations‘ border areas.
Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi signed the agreement at the opening of the 37th meeting of the Indonesia-Malaysia General Border Committee (GBC Malindo) in Jakarta on Thursday.
The biennial meeting aims to discuss military operations and border security cooperation between the two nations, as well as economic and social matters near the borders.
Both countries‘ Commander in chiefs, military generals and representatives from government institutions were present at the meeting.
"We have been successful in reaching an agreement and now have a better understanding about the standard operating procedures for air patrols along the borders," said Juwono.
He said the two countries wished to develop stricter rules of engagement to prevent unnecessary incidents among soldiers along the countries‘ sea, land, and air borders.
"As for disputes over sea territories, we still need to discuss the issue and finalize a specific rule of engagement. That way the regulation will become the standard for seamen at sea borders," he said.
Indonesia and Malaysia are still locked in disagreement over the area of Ambalat, an island located in the Sulawesi Sea off the east coast of Borneo island. Ambalat is estimated to have huge oil and gas reserves and is claimed by both Indonesia and Malaysia.
Juwono said the two countries did not discuss the Ambalat dispute in the meeting because the matter was being resolved in negotiations between the countries‘ Foreign Ministries.
"We already have a technical committee working under the supervision of the two countries‘ Ministries. The Committee has discussed the issue over a dozen times and is still trying to reach an acceptable agreement for both sides," said Badawi, acting also as the Defense Minister of Malaysia.
He said both Indonesia and Malaysia had achieved positive results through present military operation procedures, but improvement was necessary.
Badawi said the global economic crisis would affect border populations and their economic status needed improvement to prevent an outbreak of crime.
"To improve cooperation and handle the poverty issue, we need to intensify the collaborated efforts of our intelligence agencies and help eradicate criminals, smugglers and human traffickers," he said.
Juwono said the two countries should not become complacent because more dynamic and complex problems were continuing to arise at the borders.
"Efforts to deal with non-traditional security threats and challenges such as smuggling, terrorism, illegal logging, illegal fishing and human trafficking, which have been discussed many times at the ASEAN regional level, need to be strengthened at the bilateral level as well," he said.
Source:
http://old.thejakartapost.com (December 13, 2008)