Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa will attend a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission on Defense and Foreign Affairs on Wednesday in Jakarta over the arrest of Indonesian officers by Malaysian maritime police in disputed waters near Riau Island province recently.
The ministry's spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, told kompas.com that the hearing was scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
“The minister is on his way,” Faizasyah said.
The Foreign Ministry has come under fire for its slow response and poor diplomacy in the recent territorial row with Malaysia after the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry complained of delays in the protection of its officials arrested in the disputed area and the absence of clear borders.
In a hearing at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, three maritime officials, who were detained by Malaysian authorities on Aug. 13 after they had arrested seven Malaysian fishermen for illegal fishing, said they first made contact with the Indonesian consulate general in Johor Bahru two days after being detained.
They said they were unaware of disputes in the area they were patrolling, saying they had not received notification of any border dispute from the Foreign Ministry until recently.
Their testimony has added more pressure to the Foreign Ministry, which earlier was criticized for delays in issuing a claim that the incidents occurred within Indonesian territory, and in the release of the seven Malaysian fishermen, and a failure to push a reluctant Malaysia into maritime border negotiations.
Jakarta only claimed that the arrests of the three fisheries officials and the seven Malaysian fishermen occurred within Indonesian territory five days after the events. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said his ministry had needed to ensure that the incidents really happened within Indonesian territory to avoid false claims against Malaysia.
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|