Malaysia wants amicable settlement on Ambalat dispute: Hassan

8 June 2005

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Wednesday that Malaysia wanted to settle the Ambalat oil block dispute in an amicable manner.

Speaking at a working meeting with members of Commission I for defense, information, foreign and political affairs of the House of Representatives, Hassan said that technical teams of the two countries held their last meeting from May 25 to May 26.

Hassan said that Malaysian delegations disclosed at the meeting that they wanted to settle maritime boundaries between Malaysia and Indonesia amicably.

Malaysia's recent claim on the Ambalat block in the Sulawesi Sea off the island of Borneo, sparked widespread demonstrations against the claim throughout Indonesia earlier this year. The divisive dispute had even drawn the two nations on the brink of war after war ships of the two nations "bumped" into another inthe disputed waters.

One of the key items on the agenda is to thoroughly discuss the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, Hassan said.

"Compromises reached during the last meeting are expected to help boost discussions toward a more concrete direction in the next negotiations," he added.

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