Expedition team sent to observe outermost islands

Andi Hajramurni ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Makassar   |  Tue, 11/17/2009 1:17 PM  |  National

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad on Sunday saw off an expedition team assigned to collect data on 28 of Indonesia's outermost islands situated in the eastern part of the country.

Fadel said during the seeing-off ceremony for the team at Makassar's Losari beach that the expedition's mission was indicative of the government's pledge to focus more resources and attention to oversee the country's outermost islands.

He said this was necessary in order to preempt the possible claiming of Indonesian islands by other countries, as had occurred in the Sipadan and Ligitan islands case.

The two islands were the center of a territorial dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia before the International Court of Justice awarded the islands to the latter.

"We're now applying special comprehensive and integrated policies in handling our outermost islands. Three major initiatives that we have to implement are increasing defense and security *around the islands*, improving the welfare of the people, and ensuring supervision and protection," Fadel said.

Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, the head of the advisory board of the Nusantara frontier expedition team, said the outermost islands had to be visited and the inhabitants should be empowered so as to prevent other countries from exploiting the islands.

"The outermost islands, especially those situated in border areas, have often become the centers of disputes because of their remote locations and poor social conditions," Sarwono said.

"This is why we feel obliged to visit these islands. We expect to deepen our knowledge of the islanders and their cultures, so that we can empower them in the future," he added.

Of Indonesia's 92 outermost islands, only 20 are inhabited, Sarwono said.

The same 24-person expedition team had earlier visited 64 similar islands in western Indonesia. The expedition's report has been used by the government, especially the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minsitry, as a guide in monitoring and empowerment activities in the islands.

For this second expedition, the team will sail 8,000 kilometers in three months, visiting 28 outermost islands in eastern Indonesia using a traditional phinisi boat.

Sarwono said the team would place signs displaying information on the name and map coordinates showing the geographical location of each island, for each island visited.

The team would also erect statues of founding fathers Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta on each of the islands.

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