Malaysia to talk to Indonesia over border dispute

Malaysia said on Thursday it would not send ships to a disputed part of the Sulawesi Sea to face off Indonesian warships patrolling there, Reuters reported.

Indonesia sent three navy warships to the area off the east coast of Borneo Island, and has a fourth on the way, in a show of strength after Malaysia awarded oil exploration rights in the area.

Indonesia has lodged a protest with Malaysia after it struck an exploration deal with Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch/Shell in the area known as Ambalat.

Last year, Indonesia gave another oil giant, U.S.-based Unocal Corp, the right to explore for hydrocarbons in the same area.

Malaysia said it would respond to the protest soon, and urged that the neighbors use diplomatic channels to resolve the issue.

"Malaysia will not do anything beyond what we consider as our rightful maritime area in line with the law of the sea. To me, there's no need to send ships," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told a news conference in Putrajaya, the administrative capital. "Our bilateral ties are close and good," he said. "There's nothing to stop us from sitting down and talking to solve any problems."

Syed Hamid reiterated Malaysia's position that it had a right to give concessions to oil companies in the area.

"We only exercise that right whenever we give concessions," he added.

Last month, Malaysia's state oil firm Petronas awarded two exploration blocks in the Ambalat area to its own exploration arm and to Shell. (*)