RI, KL WARSHIPS COLLIDE IN AMBALAT
The Jakarta Post - April 11, 2005Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
An Indonesian warship collided with a Malaysian navy ship it was trying
to drive away from the disputed oil-rich maritime area off East
Kalimantan, Navy Chief Adm. Slamet Soebijanto said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono instructed the Indonesian Military
to refrain from taking action against Malaysia as the two governments
were currently seeking a peaceful way to resolve the territorial
dispute.
Susilo immediately held a closed-door meeting with top military
officials and ministers to discuss the incident at the Halim
Perdakusumah Airbase upon his arrival from a three-nation overseas
visit on Saturday.
"The President said that such an incident should not happen again in
the future as we (Indonesia and Malaysia) have agreed to find the best
way in settling the (territorial) dispute," Slamet said after the
meeting.
The incident involved the Indonesia Navy ship KRI Tedung Naga Malaysia's KD Rencong.
According to the Indonesian Navy, the left side of the Indonesian
ship's hull was damaged while the Malaysian ship's front was also
damaged.
The navy claimed its ship was hit by the Malaysians.
"The incident occurred when our ship was patrolling off the Karang
Unaran coast off East Kalimantan and tried to drive the Malaysian
vessel out of our maritime territory," Slamet said.
Last month, officials from the two countries met in Jakarta to resolve
the territorial dispute, which emerged in February after the Malaysian
government awarded a contract to energy giant Shell to develop a deep
water oil block in the Sulawesi Sea.
The Indonesian government has insisted the Ambalat oil block is outside Malaysian territory.
Warships had come into close contact several times this year before the
two governments agreed to negotiate to end the dispute last month.