Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto has put the blame on colonialism for Indonesia’s border disagreements with its neighbor, Malaysia, in the Ambalat sea block.

Indonesia-Malaysia ties have recently gone sour as their maritime dispute enters a new phase. The neighboring countries share overlapping claims over Ambalat, an oil-rich maritime area located in the Sulawesi Sea.

Malaysia has refused to use the Indonesian term "Ambalat" to describe the disputed region. It only wants to refer to it as the "Sulawesi Sea" to better reflect its sovereignty. Jakarta has chosen to negotiate with Kuala Lumpur, but amidst the prolonged dispute, Prabowo can’t help but mention the border issue in his first-ever state address on Friday.

Speaking at the parliamentary complex, Prabowo repeated his intentions of wanting to befriend all countries, including Indonesia's neighbors. He also reaffirmed Indonesia's unwavering “free and active” policy -- a diplomatic approach that reflected Jakarta’s pursuit of peace, according to Prabowo.

“We want to resolve all problems. There are sometimes border issues, a problem that has stemmed from colonialists. The Dutch and the British came to this region and did as they pleased to determine the borders, and now we have to deal with all the trouble,” the retired army general said.  

Prabowo alleged that the presence of the so-called “divide et impera”. This refers to a political strategy of breaking a large group into smaller forces so they will be easier to conquer, alluding to attempts to create rifts in the Southeast Asian region.

“There are attempts to make us turn against Malaysia. We are friends with Malaysia, we are from the same root,” Prabowo said.

He added, “The politics of 'divide et impera' always exist. Let’s not be naive and be willing to be pitted against each other.”

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had said that he would defend Sabah’s rights and sovereignty in the border discussions with Indonesia. His government also announced early this month that talks related to a possible joint development of the resource-abundant sea block were still at an exploratory stage.

Although if they ever do come to an agreement, it is expected that the respective state-run oil firms -- Indonesia’s Pertamina and Malaysia’s Petronas -- would work together to develop the sea block. Senior Indonesian diplomat Abdulkadir Jailani told reporters last week that while Jakarta had taken the negotiation approach, it still sought to defend its national interests.

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