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Ministry Says US Not Meddling in N. Sulawesi
Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho | February 03, 2012

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Serigala-Berbulu-Domba
7:55am Feb 4, 2012

Typical grandstanding by i'll-informed legislators for public profile purposes. Pathetic.

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Legislators have lashed out what they claim is US meddling in maritime border issues in North Sulawesi, but the Foreign Ministry insisted on Friday that the matter was being blown out of proportion.

The controversy stems from reports that US Ambassador Scott Marciel held a meeting with North Sulawesi Vice Governor Djauhari Kansil to discuss maritime security issues in the region and possible US aid for that purpose.

“As far as I know, maritime border security is a bilateral issue, so in the case of North Sulawesi we should be working with the Philippines, not the United States,” Tubagus Hasanuddin, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said earlier this week.

Tubagus, who is deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs, said any offers of defense assistance should have been made through the Foreign Ministry and not the provincial administration.

He urged the Foreign Ministry to summon Marciel for clarification about the meeting.

Mahfudz Siddiq, the Commission I chairman from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), agreed that the meeting violated protocol because it left out the central government.

Tjahjo Kumolo, the PDI-P secretary general, said his party rejected all offers of assistance from the United States in managing border security, saying the matter was a purely domestic one.

“We hope the government, the Defense Ministry and the military reject all offers of this nature, including from the United States,” he said.

“Our military is still capable of guarding our borders, even if its equipment is dated.”

However, the Foreign Ministry said the meeting between Marciel and Djauhari was just to exchange information.

“We have clarified what took place and it isn’t like what was reported,” Michael Tene, the ministry spokesman, said on Friday.

“They were simply sharing information.”

Additional reporting from Antara