Sand ban : Jakarta wants to renegotiate prices

The Sunday Times, March 4, 2007


Sand ban stays 'till border disputes resolved'
Even if exports resume, Jakarta wants to renegotiate prices and control mining, says Maritime Affairs Minister
By Salim Osman, INDONESIA CORRESPONDENT

JAKARTA - INDONESIA'S Maritime Affairs Minister has said the ban on sand exports to Singapore will not be lifted till the Republic settles their border disputes.

And even if Indonesia were to eventually allow sales to resume, it wants to renegotiate the price of sand and determine which areas could be mined to avoid environmental degradation, Mr Freddy Numberi was quoted as saying in the Jakarta Post yesterday.

Mr Freddy, the Minister for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, had called a press conference at his office on Friday to state his position on the ban on sand exports which took effect early last month.

'Politically, we banned the export of sand because we wanted it to have a larger economic value, and we also wanted to settle our border disputes with Singapore,' he said. He added despite a 1973 border agreement, there were still boundary disputes in areas to the west and east of Singapore.

His remarks contradicted those of Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, who said last month that the ban on sand exports was aimed at protecting Indonesia's environment.

Following the ban, some senior officials made known publicly there were other reasons for the move: to pressure Singapore on border issues and expedite the conclusion of an extradition treaty.

Mr Freddy said that Indonesia wanted to settle the border issues immediately 'in anticipation of a potential enlargement in Singapore's land area'.

'Singapore's land reclamation...will change the separation zone between the two countries.'

He also claims that Singapore plans to build an economic zone to its west and 'a big port in the east in which the US can dock navy ships'.

'This is a threat to us,' he added.

The minister argued that Indonesia had lost more than it had gained in the exports of sand.

Singapore, he said, had grown bigger over the years since 1974 by using Indonesian sand in its land reclamation projects. He said Singapore has grown from 580 sq km in 1974 to 660 sq km in 2003 and is expected to reach 760 sq km by 2015.

'What have we gained? Scores of destroyed and sunken islands that we have had to rehabilitate. For instance, the restoration of Nipah island in Riau alone cost us 321 billion rupiah (S$53 million),' he said, adding that sand mining has caused four islands to sink while destroying seven others.

Mr Freddy also claimed that after the ban came into effect, Singapore began buying sand from China for S$46 per cubic metre.

'So it would be fair for us to ask (for) S$20 per cubic metre. Initially, we were only paid 15 Singapore cents by contractors while they were selling the sand for S$20 to developers,' he said.

He also charged that Indonesian sand continued to be exported illegally to Singapore.

'We have intercepted seven ships carrying sand to Singapore. We have formed a team of ministers and police to investigate these illegal activities. It is possible that some officials are involved in the case,' the Jakarta Post quoted him as saying.

Separately, the commander of the navy's Western fleet, Rear-Admiral Muryono, has called on the government to also ban exports of granite and other minerals to Singapore.

The Republika daily yesterday quoted him as saying that such a ban should be imposed immediately.

'What is being developed in Singapore is all through the use of Indonesian sand. We can't let this go on forever,' he said.