Jakarta (ANTARA) - Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi has said that sovereignty has been one of the priorities of Indonesia's diplomacy in the last nine years, with the nation completing six border agreements with neighboring countries during the period.
"The sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia is non-negotiable...it is diplomacy's duty to protect the integrity of the Republic of Indonesia, including in international forums," she added while delivering the "2024 Annual Press Statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs" in Bandung, West Java, on Monday.
Marsudi informed that one of the agreements is the EEZ boundary delimitation with Vietnam, which was negotiated for 12 years and signed in 2021; and the second is the Indonesia-Malaysia agreement on two segments of the maritime boundary of the Sulawesi Sea and the Strait of Malacca, which was negotiated for 18 years and signed in June 2023.
The third agreement is on three land border segments with Malaysia in Kalimantan-Sabah, and it was signed in the 2017–2019 period. The fourth agreement on other land border segments, including the Sebatik segment, the Sinapad-Sesai segment, and West Pillar-AA 2 in Kalimantan-Sabah, is targeted to be completed in 2024 after 24 years of negotiations.
The fifth agreement is the Indonesia-Timor Leste land border agreement for the Subina-Oben and Noel-Besi Citrana segments, which will be signed at the end of January 2024 after 19 years of negotiations.
The final agreement is the one signed by Indonesia and the Philippines regarding the Principles and Guidelines for the Boundaries of the Continental Shelf in October 2022. The agreement will conclude another agreement on EEZ boundaries in the Sulawesi Sea, which was reached in 2014.
The minister noted that the process of negotiations on national borders, both land and sea, is tough, takes a long time, and needs a high level of commitment and patience from both parties.
However, she emphasized that concluding negotiations on national borders is essential.
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In addition, settlements on national borders must be carried out based on applicable international laws, such as the UNCLOS 1982, if they are related to maritime borders.
She noted that international understanding and support for Indonesia's territorial integrity is improving and becoming more solid, as was seen in the UN General Assembly.
"Respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries is a principle that must be respected by all nations, without exception," she stressed.