Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Now we have names for our previously unknown islands in the sun.
Rondo in Aceh, Mianggas in North Sulawesi, Mapia in Papua, for instance, will become familiar soon as they are among 92 of Indonesia's outermost islands along its maritime boundaries with neighboring states.
Local suggestions have been prioritized -- people in East Nusa Tenggara wanted Sepatang rather than the alien name Sofialouisa.
Thousands of islands will soon become familiar to people throughout the archipelago as Indonesia has decided to name all 4,981 of its unnamed islands.
Indonesia has submitted the list of names and coordinates of the islands to the UN in order to strengthen its territorial sovereignty and minimize the risk of disputes with neighboring countries.
Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Ministry spokesman Saut P. Hutagalung said that Indonesia urgently needed to finish naming all of its islands as it had many pending maritime border disputes with neighboring countries, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines.
The Indonesian Permanent Representative Office in New York said in a statement over the weekend that the list of names had been submitted during the 24th Conference of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) at UN headquarters in New York last week.
""Local people have names for their islands. All of the time we followed what they wanted as this reflects their traditions,"" Alex Retraubun, the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Ministry's director for outer islands, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Acceptance of the names by UNGEGN will confirm that the naming has been carried out in accordance with international standards.
""Accurate and consistent naming will support communication and enhance effectiveness in conducting rescue efforts during natural disasters,"" the statement said.
The Indonesian delegation also updated the 9th UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (UNCSGN) on the latest developments regarding the naming of the country's geographical features, including mountains, rivers, peninsulas, seas and islands.
Both the UNCSGN and UNGEGN conferences are scheduled to continue until Aug. 31.
Indonesia will begin the process of naming 8,742 remaining unnamed islands in 19 provinces in September.
""We hope we can finish naming and determining the coordinates of all of our other islands in 2009 so that we will face no more problems or disputes,"" said ministry spokesman Saut.
The Foreign Ministry's director general for legal affairs and international treaties, Eddy Pratomo, agreed that the naming of the islands was aimed at strengthening Indonesia's sovereignty.
It has long been believed that Indonesia has more than 17 thousand islands, stretching from Sabang to Merauke (west to east) and from Rote to Miangas (south to north).
