JakartaPost/Kompas-June 13
The Home Ministry’s recent decision to place four long-disputed islands under North Sumatra’s administration despite competing claims from Aceh has sparked tension between the two provinces, with critics accusing the move of being politically motivated. On April 25, the Home Ministry issued a decree declaring Lipan Island, Panjang Island, Mangkir Besar Island and Mangkir Kecil Island, located along the border between Central Tapanuli Regency in North Sumatra and Aceh Singkil Regency in Aceh, as part of North Sumatra. Home Minister Tito Karnavian said the decision was made after a lengthy process involving eight central government institutions, including the Geospatial Information Agency, the Navy Hydro-Oceanography Center and the Army Topography Directorate. “The process to resolve the dispute has been ongoing for a long time, well before I became Home Minister in 2019. Since both regencies were unable to reach an agreement on their maritime boundaries, the matter was referred to the central government,” he said on Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas. According to the Home Ministry, the border dispute began in 2007, with both Aceh and North Sumatra claiming ownership of the islands. Since then, the Home Ministry has issued at least three decrees, in 2017, 2021 and 2022, declaring the islands as part of North Sumatra. However, each decree was challenged by the Aceh administration. Home Ministry officials stated that the decision to place the four uninhabited islands under North Sumatra’s administration was based on their geographic position, as they are located directly off the coast of Central Tapanuli. When the land boundary between Aceh Singkil and Central Tapanuli was extended into the sea, the four islands were also found to fall within North Sumatra’s maritime territory, the ministry said. The latest Home Ministry decree assigning the disputed islands to North Sumatra’s administration has sparked widespread backlash in Aceh, with several regional leaders and prominent figures publicly criticizing the decision. Critics claim the government unlawfully “took” the islands from Aceh, arguing the move was politically motivated. They allege that Minister Tito aims to gift the islands to North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution, son-in-law of former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, amid speculation that the islands hold substantial untapped oil and gas reserves. Minister Tito is known to be within former President Jokowi’s close circle. Sudirman, a member of the Regional Representative Council (DPD RI) from Aceh, has urged the Home Ministry “to return” the four islands to Aceh, citing a 1992 agreement between Aceh and North Sumatra that determined the islands belong to Aceh. Read more at:
