"The diplomacy to uphold our sovereignty and to protect the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia is conducted through negotiations on its borders, both land and maritime," Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi stated.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government continues to intensify negotiations on its land and maritime boundaries with several countries, Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi stated.

"The diplomacy to uphold our sovereignty and to protect the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia is conducted through negotiations on its borders, both land and maritime," he noted here on Thursday.

The statement was made by the Indonesian foreign minister at a press briefing to highlight the three-year achievements of the application of the foreign policy of the Working Cabinet held at the Pancasila Building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to Marsudi, the efforts to intensify border negotiations by Indonesia are crucial, as discussions with some countries have not been held since 2003.

"Hence, we are committed to intensifying the discussions. However, negotiations on the boundaries of the country take a long time, but we still have confidence that there will be progress," he remarked.

On the occasion, Foreign Minister Marsudi elaborated on some negotiations on the border regions of Indonesia held in the last three years.

In 2015, the Government of Indonesia had conducted nine maritime border negotiations with the Philippines, Malaysia, and Timor Leste. In addition, the government had held 14 land border negotiations with several countries.

In 2016, the Indonesian government had conducted 20 negotiations on Indonesias maritime boundaries with several countries, three deliberations held by special envoys, and 16 land boundary negotiations.

"Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed on a memorandum of understanding for conducting a survey and a demarcation between Kalimantan and Sabah, and we are also in the final phase of negotiations on land boundaries between Indonesia and Timor Leste," Foreign Minister Marsudi pointed out.

In 2017, the Government of Indonesia had ratified two maritime boundary agreements for the Indonesia-Singapore maritime border and the Exclusive Economic Zone agreement between Indonesia and the Philippines.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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