INDONESIAN/MALAYSIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS SEA BOUNDARY ON SEPT 6

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr R.M. Marty M.
Natalegawa will meet with Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman on Sept 6 in
Kota Kinabalu, capital of East Malaysia state of Sabah, to discuss the sea
boundary between the two countries.

Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Da'i Bachtiar said the bilateral meeting would
also find the best solution to avoid a repeat of incidents that could affect the
close relations between the two neighbours.

"We will all learn from the incident to speed up the processes that are still
pending especially with regard to the boundary between Malaysia and Indonesia
which frequently causes conflicts," he said at a press conference at the
Indonesian Embassy, here Friday.

On Aug 13, the enforcement division of the Indonesian Marine and Fisheries
Ministry detained seven Malaysian fishermen in the Malaysian-Indonesian waters
near Bintan, Riau Islands, while the Malaysian Marine Operations Force detained
three enforcement officers of the Indonesian ministry.

The case had resulted in various reactions where 37 members of the
Indonesian Bendera movement demonstrated in front of the Malaysian Embassy in
Jakarta on Monday and hurled human faeces as 'gifts' to Malaysia, which was alleged
to have tarnished Indonesia's image in an even worse manner.

Da'i had personally expressed regret on the faeces-throwing incident and
attributed the demonstration to the anger and dissatisfaction of the Indonesian
people accumulated over cases involving the two countries in the past.

"In terms of ethics, I certainly don't agree to the throwing of faeces, but in
terms of jurisdiction, are there any legal provisions that the police can use to
prosecute in court, the demonstration is considered as an accumulation of past
cases," he said.

He said the Indonesian government also gave an assurance on the security of
Malaysian nationals and other nationalities residing in Indonesia and the police
were also raising security measures at the embassy and the official residence of
the Malaysian Ambassador in Jakarta.
-- BERNAMA