Indonesia signs maritime border deal with Philippines
Accord hailed as model for peaceful resolution of Asian maritime conflicts
Indonesia and the Philippines yesterday signed a maritime border accord, hailing it as a model for peacefully settling tense territorial disputes in the region, where China is becoming increasingly assertive.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the agreement, the result of 20 years of negotiations, showed that the escalating rows in the South China Sea could be resolved without violence.
"This indeed is a model, a good example, that any disputes including maritime border tension can be resolved peacefully - not with the use of military might, which [may] endanger stability and peace in our region," Yudhoyono said after overseeing the signing with Philippine President Benigno Aquino at the presidential palace in Manila yesterday.
Tensions have flared in the South China Sea, which is believed to hold vast oil-and-gas deposits, with China embroiled in separate rows with Vietnam and the Philippines over disputed waters.
Deadly riots broke out in Vietnam last week after China deployed an oil rig in contested waters. Aquino said the new agreement between Indonesia and the Philippines served as "solid proof of our steadfast commitment to uphold the rule of law and pursue the peaceful and equitable settlement of maritime concerns".
Signed by the Indonesian and Philippine foreign ministers, the agreement delineates the boundaries of both nations' overlapping exclusive economic zones in the Mindanao Sea, the Celebes Sea and the Philippine Sea.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have conflicting claims to parts of the South China Sea.