Jakarta (ANTARA) - Chief of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Moeldoko urged ministries and agencies to work together in protecting the state's marine areas.

Moeldoko delivered the statement during a coordination meeting with ministries and agencies in which they discussed about protection of the state's marine areas in Batam, Riau Islands, on Friday, June 24, as quoted from a press release received here on Saturday.

"When we talk about state sovereignty, this will definitely ignite (intense) emotions. We must manage this constellation. On one hand, we have to manage the Indonesian people's emotions, while on the other hand, we have to (address) disturbances to Indonesian sovereignty," he affirmed.

The coordination meeting was led by the KSP. The meeting's participants included those from the Coordinating Ministry of Political, Law, and Security Affairs; National Maritime Security Agency; National Border Management Agency; and First Defense Territorial Joint Commands. The event aimed at understanding the complexity of the situation in the border regions, especially at the boundaries of Indonesia's outermost maritime areas.

Moeldoko ensured that the KSP, as an institution that oversees national strategic issues, would work to address the issues of state boundaries and Indonesian sovereignty.

They remain committed to promoting integration in maritime security in the Malacca Strait and North Natuna Sea as a means to follow Government Regulation 13 of 2022 on Security, Safety and Law Enforcement in Indonesian Waters and Indonesian Jurisdiction.

“Hence, do not ever think that you work alone. There are at least 18 ministries and agencies that work in managing the national borders. Indeed, this is not easy. Hence, the Presidential Staff Office will continue to look for bottlenecks in this difficult situation,” Moeldoko remarked.

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Currently, the security scheme in the territorial waters had yet to be optimal, as the security planning, conducted partially, is sectoral in nature and is limited to the main tasks and functions of each ministry or agency.

Moreover, joint operations and patrols were still issue-based and sectoral in addition to being temporary, as each had different time limits.

Natuna waters' maritime security reinforcement was one of the 41 main development projects supported with a state budget allocation of Rp12.2 trillion.

President Joko Widodo has given serious attention to security of the border waters by prioritizing the welfare of people in the border areas, outermost areas, and frontier islands.

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Translator: Rangga Pandu A J, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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