Abdullah says Malaysia will not claim Indonesian territory

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday said Malaysia will not take control of any territory that belongs to neighbouring Indonesia but will defend its own territorial rights. “Their territory is their territory and our territory is ours and we will definitely protect our territory,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency. Abdullah said he was confident the maritime territorial dispute in the Sulawesi Sea off Borneo with Indonesia could be resolved through negotiations, adding that Malaysia had no intention to be embroiled in a conflict. “We have no intention whatsoever. If there have been any intention to go to war, we will conduct ourselves in such a way. If there have been any intention to fight, we will speak in that manner. “But those are not our intentions. That’s not what we are looking for. Our intention is to maintain cordiality and to resolve the matter,” he told a group of visiting Indonesian scholars. Abdullah’s remarks came after reports that Indonesia had sent seven navy frogmen to a small reef that both countries claim. afp

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