REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SINGAPORE -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during his visit to Singapore here on Thursday has lauded the recently signed agreement between Indonesia and Singapore demarcating maritime borders in the east of Singapore Strait.
"The agreement sets a new record in our bilateral relations," Yudhoyono emphasized.
However, the president noted that Indonesia still needs to negotiate other border issues with Singapore and Malaysia.
Yudhoyono expressed optimism that the negotiations with the two neighboring countries will proceed smoothly if its leaders are open minded on the issue.
Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa and his Singaporean counterpart K. Shanmugam signed an agreement in Singapore on Wednesday (Sept. 3) regarding Indonesia-Singapore's border demarcation east of the Singapore Strait.
According to a press statement issued by Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry received here on Wednesday, the agreement was signed during President Yudhoyono's visit to Singapore on September 2-4.
The border towards the east of Singapore Strait includes the waters between Batam Island (Indonesia) and Changi (Singapore).
To determine the border line, both Indonesia and Singapore used the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was signed in 1982.
The agreement relating to the delimitation of the territorial seas of Indonesia and Singapore in the eastern part of the Strait of Singapore is expected to ensure legal certainty regarding the border area while increasing the level of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, especially in sectors such as marine and fisheries and cross-border crime investigations.
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