Antara News
12 Jul 07
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/7/11/indonesia-waiting-for-singapores-goodwill-to-continue-discussing-dca/
The Indonesian government is still waiting for Singapore’s goodwill to continue discussions on their Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said here on Tuesday.
“We are prepared to continue the discussion if there is a positive response from Singapore,” Wirayuda said after attending the House of Representatives (DPR) second inter-pellation session on Iran’s nuclear program.
On the occasion, the Indonesian foreign minister said he would wait until the diplomatic climate with Singapore improves before re-discussing the Defense Cooperation Agreement which was signed on April 27 this year.
He said up to the present Indonesia and Singapore had yet to decide when they would meet again to discuss the DCS which had remained deadlocked in its Implementing Arrangements (IA), especially on the Bravo exercise area.
Asked about both countries’ tendency to wait from their mutual response, Wirayuda said in the two countries bilateral relations there were differences at times and time was needed to to overcome them.
“But until now there is no decision from both parties about the time to re-discuss the agreement,” Wirayuda said, adding however that Indonesia would continue to discuss the matter after getting positive response from Singapore.
“If there was a good will from both parties to sit together and discuss the matter, we will go ahead but if not, then it will mean that the document of the defense cooperation agreement has yet to be completed for implementation,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said after the signing of the agreement, both parties had sent letters to each other about the formulation of DCA regulations, especially on the Bravo area.
Juwono said Indonesia had asked that the regulations of its implementation in the Bravo area be formulated together by both parties like that in other areas such as Alpha I, Alpha II, Kayuara, and Baturaja, but Singapore rejected Indonesia’s request