The Sabah government will honour the ‘Treaty between Malaysia and Republic of Indonesia Relating to the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas of the Two Countries in the Sulawesi Sea’ (Sulawesi Sea Treaty) inked on June 8, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

Hajiji, however, stressed that in honouring the treaty, the Sabah government want to ensure the state’s right are intact and all issues are resolved amicably in ongoing negotiations regarding the matter.

“Sabah is kept in the loop on the latest development and ongoing negotiations to determine the border and areas in dispute within our maritime boundary,” he said in a statement after chairing the State Security Working Committee special meeting at Menara Kinabalu here today.

During the meeting, Hajiji was given a high-level briefing on the treaty by Federal Attorney General Foreign Affairs Division Head Alfian Yang Amri, Maritime Affairs Department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Director General Datin Paduka Nur Ashikin Mohd Taib and Survey and Mapping Department Deputy Director Powzy Mohd Som.

The committee was briefed that the Sulawesi Sea Treaty only touched on the territorial sea border off Sebatik Island, not the continental shelf and beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Hajiji also said the treaty signed during Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s visit to Malaysia had been hotly debated in the last Parliament sitting.

“It has been turned into a political issue and facts have been manipulated,” he said.

On June 8, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Joko Widodo also known as Jokowi witnessed the signing of several instruments, one of them being the Sulawesi Sea Treaty, during the latter’s working visit to Malaysia.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency