Indonesia will continue diplomatic talks with Malaysia over the oil-rich blocks in disputed waters instead of pursuing legal action, according to a senior official.
"There’s a territorial border between Germany and the Dutch that hasn’t been settled in 300 years. If the Dutch and the Germans couldn’t finish in 300 years, why should we finish in 10?” Indonesia Deputy Foreign Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno said in an interview on Friday. If the talks between the Southeast Asian nations "take a long time, so be it.”
The dispute involves overlapping claims to the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone off the eastern coast of Borneo — known as Ambalat in Indonesia and Sulawesi Sea in Malaysia. A military standoff in 2005, sparked by Malaysia’s decision to grant oil exploration rights to Shell PLC in the contested zone, marked the last major escalation.
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