Lieutenant Colonel Bayu Sigit: 68 Indonesian-Timor Leste Boundary Stakes Missing

Commander of the RI-RDTL Pamtas Task Force East Sector Battalion 742/SWY Lieutenant Colonel Inf Bayu Sigit Dwi Untoro is pointing out one of the types of stakes on the map/ Antara

ATAMBUA - Dozens of national boundary markers between Indonesia and Timor Leste located along the border area of Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), were reported missing due to natural factors.

In addition, dozens of others were almost lost due to being eroded by floods during the rainy season. This was conveyed by the Commander of the RI-RDTL Pamtas Task Force East Sector Battalion 742/SWY Lieutenant Colonel Inf Bayu Sigit Dwi Untoro as reported by Antara, in Atambua, Monday, October 4.

"We have 554 stakes, with the category of 68 missing stakes, then 36 stakes that will almost disappear because now is the dry season and later in December 2021 it will start to rain," he said.

According to him, during the rainy season, the condition of the country's boundary markers is prone to flooding because the position of the land has been eroded, which is a little more likely to be flooded and some will be lost.

"The problem that we may face here is that we do not have the authority to fix the stakes. Then it is also possible that so far there has been no improvement in our border standards. What we are worried about will disappear," he said.

He said that if the stakes in the border area disappeared, it was feared that it would be even more dangerous because in the future they did not know what the conditions would be.

"So this is indeed due to natural factors. So far, nothing, either from Indonesia or Timor Leste, has changed the position of the stake. Nothing," he said.

Along the border area, there are three types of stakes, namely the Land PBN Characteristics peg. This type of stake has a picture of the flags of Indonesia and Timor Leste. This flag indicates that it will enter the territory of a neighboring country.

This national boundary marker serves as a sign of the boundary between the two countries between Indonesia and Timor Leste.

Two other types of benchmarks, namely "Common Border Datum Reference Frame" (CBDRF) and "Border Sign Post" (BSP), he said.