Editorial: Neighborhood border
The Jakarta Post 6 Feb 09;
Never mind the length of time it took, 36 years, to agree on the western segment of the maritime border with neighboring Singapore, because the frontier is an issue with a most suspenseful character.
The famous lecture by Lord Curzon in Oxford a hundred years ago echoes this: “Frontiers are the chief anxiety of nearly every Foreign Office in the Civilized World.” It proved prophetic at a time that saw numerous wars stemming from territorial ambitions, including the two World Wars.
It is, therefore, sensible to commend the government for this agreement, the fruit of almost four years of negotiations, and express our appreciation to the Singapore government for finally agreeing not to use its southern reclaimed shoreline as the basis to determine the border.
As President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said early this week, the agreement would give Indonesia the chance to explore economic development in its territories near the boundary, as well as to boost economic ties and enhance security cooperation between Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia in safeguarding the busy Malacca Strait.
Indonesia has so far developed the Batam, Bintan and Karimun as free trade zones on the Riau Islands.
This is the second agreement, the first one, which involved the central segment of the maritime border, was signed in 1973. It is now clear that the western segment of the border between the two nations is drawn from Indonesia’s Nipah Island to Singapore’s original Sultan Shoal Island.
Talks are to start soon over the eastern segment of the maritime boundary.
Any resolved border issue is good news, given our occasional procrastination and complacency in handling such issues. A bad neighbor relationship is the last thing we want, particularly in a world saddled with a global financial crisis.
From time to time, occasional glitches do occur with neighboring countries, including Singapore and Malaysia, as is usual with neighbors. But so far, we have been able to overcome them.
At the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, we waged a confrontation with Malaysia. The confrontation was eventually resolved and the episode was a prelude to the birth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that has served as peace ballast in the region for more than four decades.
As countries worldwide shift closer to tend to their own national interests under the pressure of the financial crisis, it is good to remind ourselves that we have this time-tested club. Any improvement in border issues will inevitably strengthen the region.
It is too early to say if the agreement is a reflection of our more mature attitude in dealing with our neighbors. Time will tell if this is so. We blasted Singapore when we saw it as a refuge for our corrupt officials, forgetting to question whether our own fight against corrupt officials at home had been serious enough and free from political influence.
We blasted Malaysia for its less than elegant treatment of our workers there while failing to improve the recruitment system for our workers to work overseas, and for claiming our heritage for tourism purposes while we lag behind with our tourism promotion for failing to exploit it ourselves.
The time of reacting emotionally at the slightest hint of a threat should become a thing of the past. The region should work together for a better tomorrow.
