KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 – Putrajaya is doubtful that Malaysia’s on-going maritime border spat with Indonesia can be resolved during the September 6 bilateral meeting between the two countries, amid escalating hostility over recent weeks where several anti-Malaysia protests were held in Jakarta.

Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Richard Riot Jaem confirmed today that among the issues that will be discussed during the meeting between the two countries are maritime border issues as well as the growing protests in Indonesia by a minority group called the Nationalist People’s Bastion for Democracy (Bendera).

“I don’t think it will be quick. After 16 meetings it has not been resolved so I don’t think it can be solved that fast. You can determine land boundaries, but how do you determine borders in the sea? It’s not that easy.

“If it comes to the breaking point, the International Court of Justice will be the place where the claims are resolved as the last resort, but it should be settled between the two countries,” Richard told The Malaysian Insider in an interview earlier today.

Bendera gained notoriety for throwing faeces at the Malaysian Embassy over perceived Malaysian violation of the country’s sovereignty.

The group’s outburst was triggered by the Malaysian authorities’ detention of three Indonesian maritime officers in disputed waters near Riau island on August 13, while at the same time the Indonesian Marine and Fisheries Ministry had recently detained seven Malaysian fishermen. They were all detained for encroaching into each other’s territorial waters.

Although all those who were detained were released by the authorities of both countries on August 17, Indonesians continued to show their anger at Malaysia by staging demonstrations and at the same time pressuring the Indonesian government to adopt a firm attitude on Malaysia in tackling the border problems between the two countries.

Since then security at the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta has been tightened.

The newly-appointed deputy minister claimed that the maritime issue was a result of a “mistake” by both countries, saying that both Indonesia and Malaysia needed to move away from the incident to avoid further disputes which might “jeopardise the unique relationship” between the two.

“Both sides are wrong. They came into our waters to tow away our fishermen’s boat and we stopped them in their waters, while they were towing our fishermen’s boat to Indonesia. We have both made mistakes but we must move on,” he said.

Richard chided politicians from both sides of the political divide who have been calling for an immediate boycott against Indonesia, stating that issuing any travel advisory against the neighbouring country would only lead to more problems.

“Despite the protests in Indonesia, we will not issue a travel advisory as things have calmed down and it is only a small group that is instigating things. We do not want the work of a small group to jeopardise our relationship which has always been very close and cordial. Why would we want to resort to extreme measures? If we do that, we will only instigate things. The situation right now is normal,” said Richard.

The Serian MP claimed that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s statement yesterday calling for maintaining bilateral ties at all costs was a sign that the neighbouring country was “serious” in handling the issue.

“The Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has issued a strong statement on this... he is serious in handling this case. Instead of reacting negatively, we should thank the Indonesian authorities for their swift and prompt action,” said Richard.

In his statement last night, Susilo had outlined five reasons why the relationship between the two countries should be further protected and maintained.