Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the international civil aviation organization (ICAO) had approved the proposal to transfer the flight information region (FIR) from Singapore to Indonesia.
"A little information, in the past Singapore had control over the airspace above the Riau Islands and Natuna at an altitude of 0'37 thousand feet," said Luhut as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, March 23.
Luhut explained that he got the report while undergoing health recovery in Singapore, precisely on January 11, 2024.
Then 60 days after the issuance of information related to the change, the Indonesian airspace, which was previously designated as the Singapore FIR, returned entirely to the Indonesian FIR.
With the official enactment of the transfer of the Singapore FIR to the Indonesian FIR, he said, the Government's policy regarding flight services will make Indonesia's airspace more safe, competitive, and attractive for the civil aviation industry.
"So that Indonesia's safe, effective, air space management according to national interests and meeting international civil aviation service standards can be achieved," said Luhut.
In addition to the FIR agreement, Luhut continued, the defense cooperation agreement and extradition of fugitives between Indonesia and Singapore were also enforced.
"This is the most mitigating thing for me, considering that these three things have been bilateral issues that have not been resolved in a long time between the two countries," said Luhut.
SEE ALSO:
According to him, thanks to a diplomatic approach from the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) together with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long, the three agreements could be mutually agreed upon.
"I remember very well how long and the winding process of accelerating the completion of the three agreements related to Indonesia and Singapore's strategic interests," he said.
However, said Luhut, what must be underlined is never to ignore national interests.
Luhut said his steps in choosing to prioritize dialogue with all parties related to this issue, including establishing good communication with Singapore's Senior Minister Teo Che Hean, were in accordance with Jokowi's directives.
"All steps are taken with the determination to prioritize strengthening bilateral relations and respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two countries," said Luhut.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
