Sipadan-Ligitan case must not recur

Labuan Haji, West Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA Babel) - Vice President Boediono has stated that cases such as the one in Sipadan and Ligitan islands and Ambalat must never happen again and the nation must learn from it.

He made the statement here on Monday, during an event commemorating the Nusantara Day. In December 1957, Indonesia was declared as an archipelagic state.

Indonesia has lost to Malaysia in a dispute over the Sipadan and Ligitan islands. The two countries have also been involved in a dispute regarding sovereignty over Ambalat.

"To prevent such cases from happening again in the future, our diplomatic position must always be evaluated so we can tackle possible weaknesses. We must always take preventive measures," Boediono said.

"Even now, there is not enough coordination among several offices of the government in implementing law enforcement measures in the sea, due to which the country`s sovereignty keeps facing potential threats," he pointed out.

"From the reports that I have received so far and also from the observations made by various parties, many problems and violations have happened that have not been handled well," Boediono noted.

In order to maintain the country`s sovereignty, he said, all parties must continue to help maintain the country`s global position through international diplomacy and cover any loopholes that could negatively affect the integrity of the Unitary State of Indonesia.

"Let me remind all about the rising border disputes that our country has been facing," Boediono stated.

"We must continue to reassess our diplomatic position so any weakness in it could be overcome. We must take pre-emptive measures" he said.

"Besides, our security and law enforcement agencies must step up efforts to ensure that the country`s sovereignty is never threatened," Boediono continued.

"We must also improve our defence system and our human resources. That is a top priority for the government," he noted.

"If unchecked, the violation of our sovereignty would continue to happen and the problem will become more difficult to overcome in the future," Boediono said.

"We must not let our children and grandchildren wake up someday and see that our country is facing outside threats that it cannot overcome," he added.
(H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/B003)