Norway and Russia signed Maritime Boundary Agreement

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Setelah limapuluh tahun tidak membuahkan kesepakatan, akhirnya perundingan batas maritim antara Norwegia dan Rusia mencapai kata sepakat. Keduanya telah menandatangani perjanjian batas maritim pada tanggal 11 Juli 2007 untuk kawasan pesisir di mulut Varangerfjord (lihat peta).

Perjanjian ini, seperti diakui oleh Menlu Norwegia, Jonas Gahr Støre, akan meningkatkan hubungan baik kedua negara. Namun begitu, perjanjian ini bukanlah akhir dari persoalan batas maritim kedua negara. Masih ada segmen lain yang harus didelimitasi di masa yang akan datang. Sementara itu, perjanjian yang baru dilakukan ini mencakup batas maritim untuk laut teritorial, ZEE dan landas kontinen ke arah utara di luar mulut Varangerfjord, seperti dikemukakan oleh Store.

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US$24 billions for Nigeria-Cameroon border demarcation

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Penyelesaian batas darat dan maritim antara Nigeria dan Cameroon yang belum terselesaikan nampaknya akan semakin sulit karena persoalan dana. Ajibola, seorang anggota tim gabungan Nigeria-Cameroon menyatakan bahwa untuk menyelesaikan proyek ini diperlukan dana hingga 24 miliar dolar Amerika Serikat.

Ditegaskan dalam pernyataannya bahwa delineasi sudah dilakukan di atas peta tetapi demarkasi atau penegasan di lapangan masih perlu dilakukan dan ini bukan pekerjaan yang mudah. Berikut adalah peta lokasi Negeria dan Cameroon yang menunjukkan batas di darat. Peta ini diambil dari Wikipedia. Gunakan panah untuk menggeser dan [-]/ [+] untuk memperkecil/memperbesar tampilan peta.

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Technical Aspects of Regional Maritime Boundary Delimitation in Indonesia:

A Case Study on the Maritime Boundary Delimitation
between the Provinces of Bali and Nusa Tenggara Barat

I Made Andi Arsana*
madeandi@ugm.ac.id

I Gede Pasek Sutrana Adnyana*
igedde@yahoo.co.id

Sumaryo*
sumaryo@ugm.ac.id

* Department of Geodesy and Geomatic Engineering
Gadjah Mada University, INDONESIA
P: +62 274 902121 F: 520226
http://www.geodesi.ugm.ac.id

Abstract

Indonesia is an archipelagic State with 33 provinces and hundreds of regencies, which is now implementing regional autonomy. The regions that have sea territory are given the authority to manage natural resources therein. This provides Indonesia with the challenges of regional maritime boundary delimitation between provinces or regencies/cities. This is governed by the Law No. 32/2004, which deals with local government affairs including regional authority in the "sea territory". It regulates entitlements to maritime areas and maritime boundary delimitation in cases where overlapping claims between provinces or regencies/cities arise. Technical guidelines on regional boundary settlement have also been issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs through a regulation called Peraturan Menteri Dalam Negeri No. 1/2006 (hereinafter referred to as Permendagri No. 1/2006).

This paper is aimed at addressing technical aspects of maritime boundary delimitation between two provinces in Indonesia. The case study is for the Provinces of Bali (Bali) and Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB). This paper analyses the determination of regional authority in the sea territory of the two provinces, which was done cartometrically based on Permendagri No. 1/2006. This includes the definition of baselines, maritime claim simulation, overlapping claim identification, and theoretical maritime boundary delimitation by employing the equidistance principle.

It has been identified that there are potential overlapping claims between Bali and NTB in the Lombok Strait that requires delimitation. CARIS LOTS™, specifically designed GIS software for maritime boundary delimitation, was employed as an assisting tool for this research. This paper presents options of maritime boundaries, which might be one of the alternatives that the government of Bali and NTB may consider in the real delimitation. In addition, this paper, in general, is expected to provide relevant information for local governments in Indonesia in dealing with the recently-emerged issue: regional maritime boundary delimitation.

Keywords : regional maritime boundary, delimitation, Permendagri No.1/2006, GIS

Remark: accepted for oral presentation at MapAsia 2007 in Kuala Lumpur.

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Indonesia's Submission of the Extended Continental Shelf: Status and Problems

I Made Andi Arsana*
madeandi@ugm.ac.id

Clive Schofield**
clives@uow.edu.au

* Department of Geodesy and Geomatic Engineering,
Gadjah Mada University, INDONESIA. Currently a UN-Nippon research fellow in Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia

** QEII Research Fellow at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia.

Abstract

The United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC) 1982 indicates that a coastal State may make a claim to continental shelf extending beyond 200 nautical miles (Extended Continental Shelf, ECS). In order for a coastal State to exercise its sovereign rights over the ECS, a submission containing the outer limit of its continental shelf should be deposited to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) trough the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Indonesia is one of the coastal States, which may potentially make such a claim to continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from its baselines. Preliminary studies also suggest that Indonesia may be able to advance such claims in several locations. At the time of writing, Indonesia is currently preparing for its ECS submission, with a deadline of 13 May 2009. The present paper is aimed at outlining the development of Indonesia's ECS claim, including analysis of the current status of the submission preparations as well as the challenges that Indonesia is facing. While giving particular emphasis to technical aspects, this paper will, necessarily, discuss legal issues associated with Indonesia's ECS submission.
This paper generally covers the principles related to the definition of the outer limits of the ECS, with an emphasis on the formulae and constraints as set out in Article 76 of LOSC, technical aspects of ECS definition, and the latest status and problems related to Indonesia's ECS submission. Wherever possible, this discussion is also intended to provide possible options to overcome the identified problems.

Keywords: extended continental shelf, LOSC, article 76, CLSC, submission, formulae, constraint

Remark: accepted for oral presentation at MapAsia 2007 in Kuala Lumpur.

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Settling Maritime Boudaries

I Made Andi Arsana, Asian Surveying and Mapping, 13 June 2007

East Timor, the youngest country in the world, celebrated the fifth anniversary of its independence from Indonesia on 20 May. It is a country of tremendous challenges -- it is one of the poorest in the world -- but it is also one with great hopes for the future.

In recent elections, the Timorese voted Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta as the country's new president. Among his most urgent tasks: fighting poverty. In particular, he needs to ensure access to the revenues that will flow from the oil-rich seabed of the Timor Sea. More...

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UN-Nippon Fellopship is now open for application

Do you want to be a UN-Nippon fellow conduct research in one of the best centres in America, Australia or Europe? You may join the UN-Nippon Fellowship. It is now open for application. Should you have any question, please feel free to contact me.

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Landas Kontinen Ekstensi - Dua Masalah [?]

Dalam pencarian saya yang tentunya masih belum seberapa, saya menemukan beberapa pendapat yang berbeda tentang dua hal mengenai landas kontinen.

Pertama adalah mengenai kriteria batas terluar, terutama menyangkut constraints. Beberapa tulisan menyatakan dengan tegas bahwa batas terluar adalah tidak melebihi 350 mil laut dari garis pangkal.

Menurut pencarian saya, pandangan ini tidak sesuai dengan apa yang disebutkan dalam pasal 76 UNCLOS yang mengemukakan ada dua constraints yaitu 350 mil laut dari garis pangkal dan 2500 m isobat + 100 mil laut ke arah laut lepas. Yang terpenting dari kedua constraints ini adalah adanya operator logika ATAU (OR) yang menghubungkan keduanya, bukan DAN (AND). Artinya, bisa dipilih salah satu dan yang the "most advantageous". Artinya, mana dari kedua constraints itu yang menghasilkan batas paling luar/jauh, maka constraint itulah yang digunakan. Dengan kata lain, bisa saja batas terluar LK lebih dari 350 mil laut sepanjangan constraint 2500 m isobat + 100 mil laut masih terpenuhi. Untuk ini saya coba buatkan animasinya agar lebih mudah mengilustrasikan, silahkan dicermati dan dikomentari.

Hal kedua adalah perihal deadline pengajuan submisi ke CLCS.
Saya melihat masih ada pendapat yang menganggap deadline untuk submisi adalah 16 November 2009. Saya duga pendapat ini dilandasi oleh suatu anggapan bahwa semula deadline submisi adalah 10 tahun sejak berlakunya UNCLOS (16 November 1994) sehingga deadline adalah 16 Nov 2004 dan kemudian "diundur" selama 5 tahun sehingga menjadi 16 November 2009. Menurut penelusuran saya, deadline submisi tidak dihitung dengan prinsip seperti itu, melainkan dengan pertimbangan saat diadopsinya/disetujuinya petunjuk ilmiah dan teknis batas terluar landas kontinen oleh CLCS.

Pada Meeting of State Parties of UNCLOS tahun 2001, disepakati bahwa submisi dari negara pantai disepakati 10 tahun sejak diadopsinya petunjuk ilmiah dan teknis batas terluar landas kontinen oleh CLCS yang dalam hal ini adalah 13 Mei 1999. Artinya, 10 tahun sejak tanggal ini adalah 12 Mei 2009 (lihat juga SPLOS/72). Hal ini tentu saja berlaku untuk negara pantai yang sudah meratifikasi UNCLOS sebelum 13 Mei 1999, termasuk Indonesia.

Perihal deadline ini menjadi penting untuk dicatat karena kesalahan pemahaman akan deadline bisa berakibat fatal bagi Indonesia yang akan melakukan submisi, terlebih dengan cara parsial.

Pendapat saya ini dalam rangka mengomentari beberapa makalah termasuk yang ditulis oleh pakar-pakar Indonesia mengenai landas kontinen. Ada pendapat lain?

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Timor Leste must settle maritime boundary

Opinion and Editorial in The Jakarta Post - May 23, 2007

I Made Andi Arsana, Wollongong, Australia

Timor Leste's recent successful election has given the country a new president, Jose Ramos-Horta. Voters have a lot riding on the Nobel Peace Prize winner's ability to overcome the myriad challenges facing the young country. One of those challenges, and one that Timor Leste must prioritize now, is the settlement of the country's maritime boundaries.
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East Timor: Beyond Independence

This book is edited by D. Kingsbury and M. Leach of Deakin University. Clive and I contribute one chapter in this book concerning East Timorese maritime boundary delimitation. The chapter contributed is “The Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries: A Matter of ‘Life or Death” for East Timor?”. It is originally the paper I presented in the Indonesian Council Open Conference in Flinders University, Adelaide in September 2005. I Met Damien, the editor, as we both presented papers at the event. Damien, through his email, asked me to contribute the paper as a chapter in the book. A very interesting offer. I am so happy, the book has now been published.

This is taken from the website of Monash Asia Institute Press:

This is the most comprehensive study of East Timor since independence, examining the major themes of development, borders and security, politics and justice, resource and land management, education, and language policy. Though the country was initially lauded as a case study in successful state-building, the crisis of 2006 demonstrated that East Timor had more in common with other post-colonial, post-conflict societies than some of these earlier optimistic assessments.

East Timor continues to attract the interest and attention of governments, scholars, development institutions and aid workers as a society rebuilding itself after almost a quarter of a century of profound trauma, and consecutive eras of colonialism.

Covering the era from the independence referendum in August 1999 to the political crisis in 2006, and future prospects and challenges, this book is an invaluable resource for understanding the challenges facing the first new nation of the 21st centur

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My New Book: Ask Google Guru

Dear Colleagues,

This is a promotion of my new book that will be available in market on 10 May 2007 (Elex Media Komputindo). This time, the topic is quite light. It is not geodesy, nor law of the sea, neither maritime boundary disputes (but not a novel, either) ha ha..
The topic is something you are familiar with: Google.

Have you ever wondered?

1. How to find a tsunami animation using Google?
2. How to find Power point (ppt) files for teaching materials (lecturers will love this)?
3. How to search PDF files only from the Indonesian university websites?
4. I do not know what "mutatis mutandis" means. Can Google define it for me?
5. How many meters is one nautical mile? Can Google help me?
6. I need to have daily update regarding my research topic sent to my email. Can Google do something?
7. What is the speed of light?
8. If there are two objects, 12 and 10 kg each and separated by 15 meters, How strong is the force between them?
9. How much is one dollar in rupiah, today?
10. Can Google help me search files in my PC?

If you answer "yes" to one of the above questions, then my book might be helpful to you. Sorry, I cant stop myself from mentioning this advertisement part :). Thank you very much for your attention and happy reading (after buying one)

See its review at: http://elexmedia.multiply.com/reviews/item/27
Table of contents: http://madeandi.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/google.pdf

THE ONLY PROBLEM IS, THIS IS IN BAHASA INDONESIA :(
[should I translate it into English, do you think?]

Sincerely yours
Andi

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Pelanggaran hak cipta di Kaltim Post

Kalau Anda mengikuti kasus yang saya sebut "pelanggaran hak cipta" di Kaltim Post, berikut ini penyelesaiannya.

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Segera Terbit: Buku "Batas Maritim Antarnegara"

Perjuangan untuk menulis buku ini, seperti diduga, ternyata tidaklah mudah. Kenyataannya bahkan, dalam beberapa hal, lebih sulit dari kesulitan yang dibayangkan sebelumnya. Yang pasti, lebih lama dari yang dibayangkan. Penulisan buku ini sebenarnya bercikal bakal thesis master di UNSW dan berniat diselesaikan tahun 2006. Ternyata kenyataan bercerita lain. Tidak mudah mewujudkan gagasan menjadi kalimat yang tertata baik dan terutama yang mudah dipahami orang awam. Seperti itulah seharusnya sebuah buku. Apapun itu, perjuangan itu kini telah sampai pada titik yang tidak terlalu mengecewakan. Gama Press telah menyatakan kesanggupannya untuk menerbitkan, setelah "lolos" dari cengkraman reviewer beberapa lama.

Tidak jelas kapan buku ini bisa dinikmati di pasar, yang jelas sangat layak untuk dinantikan. Silahkan simak daftar isinya di sini.

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Pelanggaran hak cipta di Kaltim Post

Tidak sengaja saya menemukan kejanggalan di Kaltim Post. Ada tulisan saya dimuat perihal batas desa tetapi TIDAK mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Tulisan ini memang saya kirim kepada redaksi opini Kaltimpost beberapa waktu lalu dengan harapan bisa dimuat. Harapan saya memang terpenuhi, tetapi ternyata identitas saya dikorupsi.

Saat berita ini saya buat, saya sudah mengirimkan email kepada Kaltimpost. Isinya seperti ini:

Dear Redaksi Kaltimpost
(Attn. Bapak Ridwan Alkaf)

Hari ini saya menemukan kejanggalan di Kaltim Post.
Saya membaca tulisan yang saya kirim ke Kaltim Post beberapa waktu lalu dan dimuat tanggal 16 April 2007.

Saya yakin tulisan tersebut adalah sepenuhnya karya saya, tetapi pada pemuatannya tidak mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Tulisan yang saya maksud adalah:
http://www.kaltimpost.web.id/berita/index.asp?IDKategori=Opini&id=207116

Saya yakin, ini adalah rubrik opini yang seharusnya mencantumkan nama penulisnya, seperti juga opini lain di koran tersebut. Saya amati selalu ada nama penulis di bagian bawah tulisan. Saya mohon penjelasan mengapa hal ini terjadi? Apakah 'kesalahan' ini hanya terjadi pada edisi online? Bagaimana dengan edisi cetak? Jika pada edisi cetak tidak terjadi kesalahan, saya mohon diberikan buktinya pada saya.

Jika ini adalah kesalahan entah sengaja atau tidak, saya menganggapnya sebagai sesuatu yang serius. Kaltim post harus merespon in secara proporsional. Jika ternyata saya salah mengamati, mohon informasinya.

Sekedar informasi, saya menulis di banyak harian nasional dan internasional, termasuk menulis buku dan jurnal. Saya sangat memperhatikan hal-hal seperti ini. Saya benar-benar membutuhkan tanggapan segera dari Kaltim Post.

Demikian penyampaian saya, semoga berkenan dan direspon sesegera mungkin.

Salam
Andi

Mari kita tunggu penjelasan dari Kaltim Post untuk saya.
Oh ya, kalau-kalau Kaltim Post buru-buru membubuhkan nama saya pada artikel yang saya maksud, jangan khawatir, saya sudah meng'capture' untuk jaga-jaga. Silahkan simak di sini.

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It has been a month

Today, I have been in this fellowship program for a month. Not much progress has been achieved, really. However, I have managed to complete the report outline so I know where to head and what to write. One more thing, at least I am fully settled now in Wollongong. A bike has also been provided (lend) by Clive. What a supervisor :) I remember when I was doing my master, Clive also gave me some kitchen utensils. Now he lend me a bike. I wonder what I can expect for my PhD ha ha ha.

Back to serious matter.
I have started writing my report today. At least, I finally wrote some sentences in the "Introduction" section. Not yet much, but I have begun. Everybody knows, starting is the most difficult part. Does it mean that I have done the most difficult part of my research?

I will keep you posted!

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Research starts

Well, Let's now start talking about something serious: My research. Serious? isn't everything in this blog serious? Aha.. you might be right. This blog, when it was created, was aimed at accommodating serious matters. You might want to read my first posting, almost three years ago :)

Anyway, the research we are talking about now is not the one I did three years ago for about two years. The current research is the one under the UN-Nippon fellowship. This takes me back to Australia and am now in The Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), which was formerly known as Centre for Maritime Policy (CMP). The centre belongs to University of Wollongong, Australia and I am working with (again) Clive as my Supervisor :)

My research is about The submission of Indonesian Extended Continental Shelf. I am looking at its status and problems. A report outline has been discussed with Clive and has also been commented by people from the UN. I am now currently revising the outline before starting to write the report.

Next postings here will be closely related to what I am currently researching. Hope you enjoy them.

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Indonesia-Singapore talks on maritime borders making progress

Klick here for English
Yang mengikuti perkembangan perundingan batas maritim antara Indonesia dan Singapura mungkin sudah tahu kalau Singapura menyatakan tidak akan menggunakan garis pantai hasil reklamasi untuk menentukan batasnya dengan Indonesia.

Jika ini benar maka Indonesia mungkin bisa sedikit berlega hati. Persoalan selanjutnya adalah bagaimana delimitasi dilakukan secara teknis dan terjamin bahwa garis pantai yang digunakan adalah yang "asli" sebelum reklamasi. Ini terkait aspek teknis termasuk penggunaan peta laut dll.

Aspek lain adalah perlunya penetapan datum geodesi untuk batas maritim selanjutnya agar tidak seperti batas maritim yang sekarang, tanpa datum geodesi.

Simak versi Bahasa Jawa di Jakarta Post

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Animate the Law

Being in a place where no surveyor other than me is, to an extent, very glorious. I could feel that I am useful and am the man with the most precious knowledge ha ha. Surrounded by lawyers who are keen to know more about technical aspects of the law of the sea gave me privileges to express my technical and spatial expertise.

Honestly, I did not realize what I know is significantly important and is precious to my lawyer colleagues. I am talking about the ability of technical people (read: surveyors) to explain legal problem using graphs, charts, and even animations. A very good example of this situation is when lawyers try to understand the meaning of Article 76 of the UNCLOS. It is not very easy to understand the very long article without sufficient knowledge of technical aspects.

I am quite lucky with my “weird” creativity to stay for hours (or even days) in front of computer “converting” those complicated legal expression in article 76 into a nice, simple and easy-to-understand animation. I found that even the lawyers find it a lot easier to understand the article by seeing my animation with minimum oral explanation. Want to see the amusement? :) Please contact me!

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UN-Nippon Fellowship

Saya menulis ini sambil sesekali memandang gemerlap lampu di kejauhan. Suasana malam ini sangat indah terlihat dari tempat tinggal saya di lantai 3 sebuah apartemen yang berada di Crown Street, Wollongong, NSW, Australia. Sudah beberapa hari ini saya berada di Wollongong Australia untuk melakukan sebuah penelitian. Hal inilah yang akan saya ceritakan kepada Anda saat ini. Mungkin tidak berguna bagi semua orang, tetapi bisa jadi memberi sedikit inspirasi bagi sebagian pembaca. Bagi Anda yang ingin mendapatkan kesempatan seperti ini, mungkin ada baiknya Anda simak.

Silahkan download pdf.

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Sengketa Batas Maritim Indonesia-Singapura dari Sisi Teknis

I Made Andi Arsana, Suara Pembaruan, 6 Maret 2007

Tampaknya hubungan Indonesia dan Singapura kembali terganggu dan cenderung tegang belakangan ini. Pasalnya, isu batas maritim kembali mengemuka, sebuah topik yang sesungguhnya sama sekali tidak baru bagi kedua negara. Salah satu isu terkait yang menyita perhatian adalah reklamasi pantai yang dilakukan Singapura. Apakah benar seperti kekhawatiran banyak orang reklamasi itu akan mempengaruhi klaim maritim Singapura dan batas maritim antara Indonesia dan Singapura?

Lanjut...

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