92 outer islands vulnerable to being occupied by foreigners: LIPI
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 05/24/2009 4:54 PM
The Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) has warned that 92 outer islands across the archipelago were vulnerable to being “occupied” by neighboring countries due to the absence of any physical activity on the far-flung islands.
LIPI researcher Ono Kurnaen Sumadiharga said the government should take action to protect the outer islands because some of them remained unnamed and there were no activities in the area.
“If the government takes no action to protect them, the fate of 92 outer islands could be like that of the Sipadan and Ligitan Islands,” Ono said, as quoted by kompas.com on Sunday.
He said included in the vulnerable islands list were those around the Biak Islands in Papua and the Natuna Islands in Riau.
“At first, foreign fishermen might only moor their boats on the islands. Then they might reside in the area and raise their flags there, before claiming them as their own property,” he said.
Ono, who is an oceanography professor at the University of Indonesia, said in Sangihe regency in North Sulawesi many of the residents spoke in Tagalog, the most widely spoken of the Philippine languages.
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