Agreement on Maritime Borders Between Malaysia and indonesia

On 09 June, the President of Indonesia and the Prime Minister of Malaysia reached an agreement on maritime borders. It concerns delimitation of their countries’ territorial seas in certain parts of the Straits of Malacca and the Celebes Sea.

Though the treaties were heralded as a breakthrough after 18 years of negotiations, parts of the longstanding maritime dispute have not yet been resolved.

The treaty does not include areas which are still under dispute, for example, Pulau Sebatik near Sabah and the limits near the Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Johor.

The border agreements, which followed painstaking negotiations, remove a potential source of friction between the two neighbors whose relations have been shadowed by the legacy of Konfrontasi.

This agreement lays the foundation for future negotiations on maritime delimitation, which should be concluded by 2024.

The President of Indonesia and the Prime Minister of Malaysia pledged to resolve other land boundary issues by next June.