Transcript of Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo's door-stop interview with Singapore media after the Opening Ceremony of the Chancery of the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta, 10 March 2009

Q: If you have your view on this opening about why you chose Indonesia to be Singapore's biggest Mission in any foreign country.

Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo: No we did not choose to make this the biggest chancery of all our missions in the world, we were just responding to needs. It reflects a real situation that our relations with Indonesia are becoming more multi-faceted, and the account is growing and naturally we need more representatives here. And for this reason, responding to these needs, when we redesigned the chancery, it was designed with all these rooms and halls and spaces. And I am quite sure that they will be quickly filled up.

Q: It would be interesting to know how much you spent for this nice, beautiful building.

Minister: I do not know.

Q: Minister, for the delimitation of the Singapore-Indonesia maritime boundary, you mentioned having a tri-junction point on the western part. Is it possible for us to proceed with the negotiations on the western tri-junction point? Because for the eastern one it...

Minister: The main separation between Singapore and Batam was done in 1973, then we wanted to extend it westwards and this was what we signed today, but we cannot go further west because somewhere further west is where we have the tri-junction point with Malaysia as well, which has to be negotiated tri-laterally. Also between Indonesia and Malaysia, they must decide on their bilateral delineation which has not yet been done. So I do not see the tri-lateral point being settled in the immediate future. Once this agreement has been ratified with the DPR, we will begin negotiations on the eastward extension of our border, again, falling short of the tri-lateral junction point. That will be the next phase. In the meantime, between us and Malaysia, we are delineating the border between us around Pedra Branca following the ICJ decision.

Q: Do you see the ratification of this treaty, this maritime boundary treaty, facing a bit of the same fate as the DCA and the ET?

Minister: I do not sense the Indonesian side being anxious about it. I discussed this with them informally and they think that it should not be a major problem.

Q: So are we looking at any time frame or time line?

Minister: It will only be put to the new DPR after it is elected. We will take it from there, but it is their decision.

Q: What about... this is an election year for the Indonesians and how the dynamics would affect our bilateral relations?

Minister: I do not think that it would affect bilateral relations too much. There could be some differences in emphasis depending on who comes in but by and large, bilateral relations are driven by national interests, and the national interests of both are in working together. And I believe that our cooperation will continue to grow because the geography and the connections required to cooperate more and more, both bilaterally in ASEAN and internationally.

Q: Minister, can I just ask one question? I would like to find out what actually prompted this negotiation on the western border? And who actually initiated it and why?

Minister: It was something that ought to be done because between two countries there are borders and the clearer these borders are, the easier it is for each to carry out its own responsibilities.

Q: But then who actually initiated it? Was it the Singapore side or the Indonesian side?

Minister: Oh that was a long time ago. But I remember in... I think the Indonesian side was pushing for it years ago, then around 2005, either end '04 or early '05, we decided to begin negotiations. And after a few years, it is concluded which is very nice. Thank you very much.

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