Wednesday July 1, 2009
Zahid’s trip to ease Ambalat tension
JAKARTA: Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his meeting with Indonesian counterpart Juwono Sudarsono here will help ease tension over Ambalat.
He said Malaysian and Indonesian navies agreed to coordinate sea patrols at Ambalat, a sea block in the Sulawesi Sea which Malaysia calls Blok ND.
“This will help avoid physical contact by patrol boats as they will keep to the border agreed, thus preventing a territorial dispute,” he told a press conference here yesterday before leaving for Bandung.
Other than the Ambalat issue, the defence ministers also agreed to cooperate in patrolling other disputed border areas like Sandakan in Sabah dan Tarakan in East Kalimantan.
The Malaysia-Indonesia border joint technical committee will meet next month to study the agreement before coordinated patrolling could be implemented.
Zahid, who will be on a three-day official visit, said the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) and the Indonesian National Army (TNI) agreed to cooperate in the defence industry and to complement each other’s expertise and resources.
“Such cooperation will prevent Malaysia, Indonesia and other Asean countries from becoming dumping grounds for weapons and defence equipment.”
He said they also agreed to accommodate senior army officers of both countries for courses at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia and Lembaga Pertahanan Nasional Indonesia. — Bernama
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