Friday, January 03, 2003
ASIA FILE
Islands of hope in a war-weary world
Indonesia and Malaysia chose arbitration over war in the spirit of a family resolving its dispute, says Barun Roy
Published : January 3, 2003
Thirty-nine years ago, Indonesia, under Sukarno, had gone to war against Malaysia to kill the newly-independent state at birth. There was no question of greeting the new nation. Sukarno had his own idea of a greater Malay empire, which he thought would consist of Malaya, the Philippines, and Indonesia - Maphilindo , as he called it - and believed that Malaysia was a British creation meant to sabotage his dream.
Thirty-nine years later, last month, with Sukarno's daughter Megawati Sukarnoputri at the helm in Jakarta, Indonesia politely accepted and publicly hailed an International Court of Justice verdict rejecting its territorial claim on two tiny islands off Sabah and awarding them to Malaysia.
"We want this to be held as an example of how to resolve problems between countries that are neighbours," said Indonesian Defence Forces chief general Endriartono Sutarto of the verdict, delivered on December 17.
There couldn't be a better example of the camaraderie now sweeping through southeast Asia. It wasn't difficult to see why Jakarta wanted the islands so badly. They are profitable tourist gems and have some of the world's best dive spots.
Sipadan, in particular, rising from a 700-metre abyss in the Sulawesi Sea, is an enchanting tropical island that Jacques Cousteau, the famous explorer, once described as "an untouched piece of art". But the fact remains that the two countries chose arbitration over war and, in the spirit of a family resolving its dispute, will now redraw its maritime boundaries.
Having won Sipadan and Ligitan through arbitration, Malaysia now believes it stands a good chance to win its other island battle, against Singapore. The bone of contention is a puny atoll, known as White Rock, east of Singapore and south of Malaysia's Johor state, where Singapore has maintained a lighthouse since 1851. Nothing grows on this totally exposed rock, made white over the centuries from the droppings of numerous sea birds, and nothing else exists on it besides the lighthouse tower, quarters for the lighthouse personnel, and a helipad and radar tower now under construction.
Thus, White Rock, called Batu Puteh in Malaysia and Pedra Branca in Singapore, has no economic significance at all, but both Singapore and Malaysia want it because of its strategic importance.
The islet, situated at the eastern entrance of the strait of Singapore, sits next to one of the world's busiest sea-lanes.
Can Malaysia win this one? We don't know. The important thing is it has agreed with Singapore to ask the International Court of Justice to decide the sovereignty issue, continuing a spirit of cooperation that now creates a hope for an equally peaceful resolution of the bigger, and trickier, multilateral dispute over the Spratlys.
The Spratly group includes 600 or so islets, atolls, coral reefs, and sea mounds scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 square kilometres of central South China Sea, with a total land area of less than 5 sq km. But despite the group's insignificant size, no fewer than six parties - the Philippines, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Brunei - have put in claims to its ownership.
They are tempted by the fact the islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and the presumption that they sit on substantial deposits of oil and gas.
Five of the parties have established physical control, which complicates matters. The Philippines, for example, has deployed about 1,000 marines on seven of the islands that it says fall within its exclusive economic zone. Taiwan has maintained a garrison on Itu Aba since 1956. Malaysia controls three of the islands. Vietnam has mobilised a token occupation force. The Chinese have built gun-turreted structures on Mischief Reef, an atoll the Philippines says is within its exclusive zone.
As is to be expected in a situation like this, tensions have flared in the Spratlys from time to time, amid fears that the conflict could develop into a full-scale war.
Occasional clashes have occurred between Chinese and Vietnamese naval forces, and only last August, Vietnamese troops fired warning shots at Philippine military planes flying by. But, by and large, the countries have avoided going into an open war.
Chances for an amicable settlement improved after China and the leaders of the Southeast Asian nations signed a pledge in Phnom Penh last November not to disturb the status quo or to occupy the islands by force.
The next step may not lead automatically to the World Court. Beijing is somewhat resistant to the idea of arbitration and would prefer to sort things out through neighbourly talks. But one thing is clear.
China and its southeast Asian neighbours are not in a mood for war right now, and it shouldn't come as a surprise if, through arbitration or through negotiation, the Spratlys were eventually to emerge as a joint responsibility of the nations concerned and an example of their new-found solidarity.
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