No border conflict with Malaysia: Indonesia…no kidding,Marty?

The Jakarta Post/ANN 11 Oct 2011

INDONESIA – Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has denied allegations that Indonesia is involved in a border conflict with neighboring country Malaysia.

Speculation may have occurred as a result of a misunderstanding over some basic terms regarding the two countries’ borders, Marty said Monday.

ASEAN sans frontiere: There were several border marker stones that could not be found, for natural reasons, which could have sparked premature claiming speculation

“Until now, we have not been involved in a border dispute with the Malaysian government. In regards to news that keeps mentioning there has been one-sided claim to Indonesia’s Tanjung Datu and Camar Bulan village, I must say that this is not true,” he said.

However, the foreign minister also acknowledged that there were several border marker stones that could not be found, for natural reasons, which could have sparked premature claiming speculation.

Marty then gave an example of a marker stone that used to be located in the northern part of Tanjung Datu and was now located below the surface of the water because of coastal abrasion.

“We are fully aware of the situation and we have been working on it,” he said.

A team comprising border experts had been deployed to fix the situation, Marty said.

The Indonesian public has been once again raising eyebrows in regards to its northern neighbor over news mentioning that Malaysia had one-sidedly claimed two territories belonging to Indonesia, the Tanjung Datu and Camar Bulan, both situated on the border between the two countries in Kalimantan/Borneo.