Abdul Khalik and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Jakarta says that unless Singapore agrees on the details of how it plans to conduct military training in Indonesian territory, it will not implement the defense and extradition treaties signed with the city-state.
Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said here Monday the extradition treaty, defense pact and their implementation agreements should be treated as one package, with one being unable to be ratified and enacted without the others.
"We want clear rules of the game on the frequency and scope of Singapore military training, including how many times Singapore can fire its missiles in our territory. Singapore and the TNI (Indonesian Military) must agree on all the agreements regarding the details of the training," he told reporters.
"Singapore still wants rules of their own, without having to negotiate with the TNI on their military training here. If there is no agreement, then there will be no treaties."
He said the Indonesian government could not move forward and ask the House of Representatives to ratify the two treaties because Singapore had still not met all of Indonesia's demands.
Jakarta and Singapore signed the landmark extradition treaty and defense cooperation agreement at the Tampak Siring presidential palace in Bali on April 29. The treaties must be ratified by both countries' parliaments before they can be implemented.
Indonesia hopes the extradition treaty will allow it to bring to justice graft fugitives who have fled to Singapore and return their stolen money to the country.
Singapore, a 797-square-kilometer island with a population of around four million, is widely considered a safe haven for Indonesians involved in corruption and other crimes.
The city-state has allegedly imported illegal logs and sand stolen from Indonesia through the black market, and has been accused of failing to uphold transparency in its bilateral trade with Indonesia.
Lawmakers and observers have criticized the treaties, saying the benefits Indonesia stands to gain from the extradition treaty are questionable, and that the country has given away its sovereignty to Singapore with the defense pact.
The United Development Party (PPP) has emerged as a leading critic of the defense agreement, saying it will not ratify the treaty.
The PPP faction presented an official letter to the House leadership Monday, asking the government to unilaterally annul the defense agreement, which it said violated Indonesia's sovereignty.
"Our faction has unanimously decided not to ratify the defense agreement which gives almost no benefits to Indonesia. We are of the opinion that no approval will be given to any concessions ignoring our sovereignty," PPP faction chairman Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said.
He said the treaty's implementation would lead to possible violations of the 2002 law on state defenses, which prohibits Indonesia from signing defense pacts with other countries, and the 1997 law on the environment, in relation to the potential firing of missiles by Singapore in Indonesian territory.
House Deputy Speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who received the PPP's official letter, said his party was also expected to reject the treaty.
Djoko Susilo, a legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said his faction would not ratify the defense agreement.