Lilian Budianto and Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Nusa Dua | Fri, 09/03/2010 9:27 AM
While President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono tried to win public support by ordering an acceleration to negotiations to solve the ongoing border row with Malaysia, the Foreign Ministry conceded it would take years to see concrete results from any talks.
The Sept. 6-7 meeting in Kinabalu, Malaysia, will only serve as the opening of a long and tiring series of talks, officials said.
As public expectations to find an outcome in the dispute at the two-day meet is running high, many in Indonesia could end up disappointed over the results of the talks as Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa warned that any border negotiations would take some time to complete.
“We must remember that such border negotiations will not be quick. Our negotiations with Vietnam, for instance, took 32 years to complete,” he said after a meeting with Thai Foreign Minister Kasit
Piromya in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday.
As discussions between Indonesia and Malaysia over disputed territory may take decades to resolve, the Kinabalu meeting stands to serve as a preliminary discussion to enter into further border talks and the possible arrangement of shared border areas until the dispute is resolved, said Hikmahanto Juwana, international affairs lecturer at the University of Indonesia.
“It is wrong for people to think that the Kinabalu meeting will automatically solve the dispute we have now,” he said.
Hikmahanto also voiced criticism towards Yudhoyono, whose speech on Wednesday gave the perception that the upcoming meeting would solve the border dispute.
He said the much-less-than-expected results of the meeting would only fuel more disappointment and anger among the Indonesian public.
“There is nothing wrong with diplomacy. It’s just that the signal from the government that the talks will solve the problem gives false hope to the people,” he said.
Hikmahanto added the recent row between the two neighboring countries was not simmering because of one country’s claim over the other’s territory, but because of the arrest of three Indonesian officials in disputed waters off Riau Island province by Malaysian maritime police.
“We can talk about how to avoid more arrests in the future but it is not possible to quickly settle the border dispute unless we give up our claim,” he said.
The recent row has also exposed other problems faced by the two countries in handling their borders.
During a recent hearing with the three Indonesian officers, some legislators cited reports that the men not only faced charges of encroaching on Malaysian territory but also charges of extortion against the Malaysian fishermen — an accusation the three officers deny.
A legislator who refused to be identified said Jakarta had clarified with Malaysian police allegations that they had obtained evidence of extortion, including a text message from an Indonesian officer to one of the fishermen containing the officer’s bank account information.
The legislator said he was not aware of the sum of money requested but said the message was sent to the fisherman before the officers were caught by the Malaysian authorities. He continued to say that Yudhoyono had been informed of the issue.
Some studies and reports have revealed corruption practiced by Indonesian maritime officials, who allegedly charge Malaysian fishermen 10 percent of their boat’s value to be released if caught fishing in disputed waters.
