Singapore pacts must be ratified as one: Jakarta

The Straits Times, May 24, 2007
By Salim Osman, INDONESIA CORRESPONDENT


Foreign Minister reiterates govt position on defence and extradition pacts


NO COMPROMISE: Mr Hassan says the two treaties must be implemented at the same time.





JAKARTA - INDONESIAN Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda has reiterated that the extradition and defence treaties with Singapore must be ratified as one package.

He said the government would present the two treaties to the legislature on Monday, adding that 'one could not be implemented without the other'.

'The two agreements were negotiated in parallel, so progress in one field is hoped to push development of the other,' Mr Hassan was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Some legislators prefer to ratify the extradition treaty first before working on the Defence Cooperation Agreement, which critics say does not benefit Indonesia.

Legislator Andreas Pareira of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle said the defence pact would compromise the country's territorial integrity.

He said the construction of military training facilities in Indonesian territory and the training that would be conducted as a result of the agreement would also lead to severe environmental problems.

'Is Singapore being asked to bear the cost?' he was quoted as saying by the Detikcom news portal.

Media Indonesia Daily, in its editorial yesterday, said the defence treaty undermines Indonesian territorial integrity by surrendering the country's territory to the Singapore military.

'The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is allowed to use Indonesian waters and air space to fire guided missiles four times a year,' it said.

The newspaper added that by agreeing to such an arrangement, Indonesia was giving up its territorial integrity to Singapore four times a year for the Republic to strengthen its armed forces.

'This is silly...It is embarrassing as this country has lost its ability to say no to its tiny neighbour,' it said.

It criticised Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono for signing 'a stupid pact', which should be withdrawn.

But Dr Juwono said the defence treaty would not compromise Indonesia's interests and territorial integrity because the armed forces of the two countries were discussing details on how to implement the treaty.

Dr Juwono said it would be through the implementation agreements that Indonesia's territorial integrity and national interests would be preserved.

Singapore Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean told Parliament on Monday that the discussions were still going on as Indonesia wanted some variations to the implementation agreements.

This led to a delay in the signing of the agreements by the respective chiefs of the armies, navies and air forces of the two countries, which was originally scheduled for May 7.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry director for international agreement, politics and national security Arif Havas Oegroseno said the new defence treaty would regulate the use of Indonesian territory for military training by Singapore.

It would be more stringent in terms of spelling out in detail the arrangements for any military exercise, such as the flight of an aircraft, the type of weapons to be used and the radar system, he said.

Air force chief Herman Prayitno also dismissed criticisms that the SAF would have 'a free hand' in the use of Indonesian territory for training, saying that the ground rules would be spelt out in the implementation agreements.