Indonesian navy: 13 ships caught carrying sand to Singapore

The Straits Times, February 28, 2007
By Azhar Ghani, Indonesia Bureau Chief



Lawmakers press the government to get tough with Singapore

IN JAKARTA - INDONESIA'S navy has detained 13 vessels for trying to smuggle sand to Singapore, in breach of Jakarta's ban on sand exports.

Indonesia's official Antara news agency quoted West Navy Fleet Commander Colonel Denny Noviandy as saying at the weekend that the ships, carrying some 39 tonnes of sand, were stopped on the first day of the ban on Feb 6 and on Feb 22.

'We'll continue to carry out patrols because continuous exploitation and exports of sand will cause great losses for Indonesia,' he said.

Col Denny was also quoted as saying that aircraft are used to monitor the movements of ships.

Following the ban, Indonesia moved to tighten security in the Riau Islands province, south of Singapore.

The export ban, while applicable to all countries, primarily affects Indonesia's main market, Singapore.

The secretary-general of the Riau Sand Exporters Business Association, Mr Syahrul Jamal, told The Straits Times that the vessels detained on Feb 6 were carrying sand which had their export permits processed before the Feb 5 deadline.

But they were caught by the navy while en route to Singapore when the ban took effect. He believed they would be released once things had been clarified with the navy. As for the remaining vessels, Mr Syahrul said members of his association had denied any involvement. Officials said they were still investigating the matter.

When Indonesia first imposed the sand ban, it gave as reasons the need to protect its maritime boundaries as well as to preserve the country's environment.

But soon after, some senior officials made known publicly that there were other reasons for the ban: that it was to pressure Singapore on issues related to border talks and expediting the conclusion of an extradition treaty.

Indonesian lawmakers have stepped up pressure on their government to get tough with Singapore.

At a parliamentary hearing on Monday, the chairman of the Commission for Defence and Foreign Affairs, Mr Theo Sambuaga, said Jakarta should not allow Singapore to 'dominate or dictate' matters in bilateral talks.

He also urged the government to cr: ack down on Singapore businessmen who have obtained sand through illegal mining and on Indonesian officials abetting such deals.

Commission member Yuddhy Chrisnandi supported the call. 'The government must take strong action against everyone involved in the theft of sand, which has caused tens of trillions of rupiah in losses to the state and the sinking of Nipah Island, just a few nautical miles from Singapore,' he said.

The panel questioned Jakarta's ability to stop the illegal quarrying and sale of sand, noting that corrupt Indonesian officials and security personnel were involved.

According to a Jakarta Post report, the commission called on the government to review its diplomatic ties with Singapore.

'It is not necessary for the government to enhance cooperation in the economic and defence fields with Singapore if the city state is not committed to cooperating in other fields, including law and border management,' said commission member Abdillah Toha.

He and another panel member Slamet Effendy Yusuf criticised Singapore for what they claimed was its reluctance to sign the extradition treaty.

The commission also complained that Singapore's fighter jets often flew over the Riau Islands without prior approval from Jakarta