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New Straits Times

[UPDATED] Anwar: Sulawesi Sea talks must honour legal, historical claims

KOTA KINABALU: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has assured that any discussion involving the Sulawesi Sea must be based on legal and historical considerations. He added that the outcomes require the agreement of both the Sabah government and the state legislative assembly. He said the recent 13th Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation meeting with Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto concerning the Sulawesi Sea was conducted in the presence of Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg. "In line with the principles of the Madani government, matters such as border delimitation must involve state leaders, including those from Sabah. "I think the Chief Minister (Hajiji) should hear it directly, to express his views, and to be aware of what was discussed," he said during the closing of the three-day National Farmers, Breeders and Fishermen's event at Sabah International Convention Centre here. Regarding the Sulawesi Sea, Anwar said he had made it clear, in the presence of Hajiji, that the issue must be discussed based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and historical antecedents. The dispute in the Sulawesi Sea involving overlapping maritime claims between East Kalimantan (Indonesia) and southeastern Sabah (Malaysia) has persisted since Malaysia published a map of its maritime boundaries in 1979. According to a written reply dated July 22 published on the Parliament website, the Foreign Ministry maintains that the ND6 and ND7 oil exploration blocks in the Sulawesi Sea fall within Malaysian sovereign territory under international law. "Most importantly, any decision must have the agreement of the Sabah state government and, ultimately, the State Legislative Assembly. "I have chosen to respond as the representative of the federal government, and I will defend Sabah's rights. "This is our country. We will not allow even a single inch of land or sea to be encroached upon or claimed by anyone. "When it came to the court case in Spain involving the Sulu heirs' claims over Sabah, we fought with maximum effort to defend Sabah's sovereignty."