PETROLEUM: INDONESIA, MALAYSIA AND THAILAND SIGN AGREEMENTS ON OFFSHORE BOUNDRIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000200200001-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 31, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: February 4, 1972
• Content Type: CABLE

ttl, Declassified and Approved ForRelease2012/11/21 : CIA-RDP08001297R000200200001-9
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SUBJECT : Petroleum: Indonesia,
Agreements On Offshore
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Ii. On December. 17, 1971 Indonesia and Thailand signed an offshore
boundary agreement and on December 21, 1971 Indonesia, Thailand and
Malaysia signed the first Southeast Asian tripartite agreement
delimiting the continental shelf boundary in the northern part of
the Straits of Malacca and the Andaman Sea. Copies of the agreements
and a Memorandum of Conversation with the chief Indonesian negotiator,
.Ntr,.-Soembarlpno of the Directorate General of Oil .and Gas, are en-
closed. According to Hasjim Djalal of the Legal Directorate, Depart-
ment of Foreign Affairs, the agreements will not be submitted to the
United Nations or made public until after the agreements have been
ratified by the governments involved. Soenibarjono indicated that
Indonesian and Malaysian ratification would probably take place soon;
however, Thai intentions are less clear.
2. The documents relating to the bilateral and tripartite agreements -
(enclosure 2) are classified Confidential. Texts of the two agreet
ments may be declassified at such time as the three eignatories
release them for publication.
3. Posts not receiving copies of the agreements may wish to request
copies from the Department.
? FILE
Action Taken:
Drafted by:
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Enclosures:
_1.'Memorandum of Conversation (To All Posts)
.2, Bilateral and Tripartite Agreement Documents (To Department of
State, AmEmbassy Kuala Lumpur and AmEmbassy Bangkok Day)
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Drorting Dotes
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For Department Use Only ,
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'Contents -and- CT.-Ossification Approvers by:,.
L.ECON:Erland H. Heginbot
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Declassified and ApprovedForRereanse210_17/71/77
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COAFIDMNTIAL
MENDRABDUM OF COBVERSATION
PAR12CIPANTS: Mr. SoeMbarjono, Directorate General oar Oil and Gas
Mr. Robert P.,Siutz, Jr., First Secretary of Embassy
James R. Matz, Economic Officer
DATE:? January 26, 1972
PLACE Z- TIPE: Luncheon, Geman Club, DjaXarta
SUBJECT: Offshore Boundary Agrmenyn Between Indortesia, Thailand
and Malaysia; Pending Bilateral and Tripartite Agree-rents;
Survey of Malacca Straits
DISTRIBUTION: AMEMbasey Bangkok MB
Canberra DCM
Kuala Lumpur SA
Lisbon ECO/C(4)
Manila ? POL '
NO Delhi USAID ()
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1. Bilateral Agreement Between Indonesia and Thailand; Trinatiqs_reement
Between Indonesia, 4alav?6ia and Thailpmd
ILIth;:w?Fh not narticularl7t ontimistic because of the change. of government
in Thailand, Sbembarjono went to Bangkok in early Datamber to talk-to two
old and cicse friends, Vija Sethaput Under-Secretary Of State forNational
Delelopmen, amd .3taphot Phiansunthorn, Director-General of the Treaty and
Legal Deprent, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, abou,t. the prospects for
reaching agrt7:ement on offsho7e boundaries. After about i:.-week (during which
he visited Checgmai), ha waA unexpectedly informed by Srphot that the
That Revolutioary. Council was prepared to sign both a bilateral and a
trinartite greement, including Malaysia. Soembarjono explained that the
Thai deciSion to move ahead with the signing of the two agreements vas
principally dlle to oil exploTation activity offshore Burma.: The Thai
apparently concluded that if they did net settle their offsho7e boundaries
with a minimum of delay, it was possible that they might lose out to the'
Buxmees.in attracting oll cOmpaties to their offshoreareas, Elated,
Soeularjonv-started =king azrangements for the ceremony to be held about
tvo 'eek a later in Kuala Luvpur. Becwase the Thai cabinet had been dissolved,
the ETG tad to designate some other official below cabinetrank to conclude
the agreements. This problem was resolved by selecting Vija Sethaput to
CONFIDENTIAL
A72-20 (I)
1%1 Aceirgurt
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CONFIDENTIAL
MEMORANDUM OF CONVEMSATION
.sign with the title of "Under-Secretary of State for National Delelopment
in charge of the Ministry of National Devalopment,l(emphesis added). With
this ingenious formula, the signing of e. ailateral agreement took place in
Bangkok between Indonesia and Thailand on DeceMber 17, 1971?- and the
triparhite agreement between Indonesia, Tqailand and Malaysia on December 21,
1971 in Kuala Lumpur on the delimitation of the continental shelf boundary
in the northern part of the Straits of Malacca and the AnciPman Sea.
Soembarjono said that the Indonesian parliament should ratify the agree-
ment in the very near future. Malaysia would probably follow suit some
time this year. He did not speculate on what the Thai might do, but indi-
cated as far as Indonesia was concerned, early Thai ratification was
relatively unimportant.
021
-2-
2. Agreements Pending
Soekbarjono naid that he would now turn his attention to the following
ten unsettled offshore boundary areas:
a) Indonesia-Australia (Timor and Alp-tura Seas)
b3e-IndOtesia-Portugal (Timor -Sea) L-n-ca-i-cataaC
c) Indonesia-Australia-Portugal (Timor Sea)
d) Indonesia-Philippines (Celebes Sea)
e). Indonesia-Sabah orMalaysia(Celebes-Sea)
f) Indoaesia-South ?Vietnam (South China Sea)
g)
Indonesia-South Vietuam-Malaysia (South China Sea)
h) Indonesia-Singapore (Straits of Singapore Continental Shelf)
I) Indonesia-Singapore-Malaysia (Straits of Malacca/Singapore - South
China Sea - Common points)
j) Indoresia-Thailan&andia (Andaman Sea)
(Conment: SoeMbarjono talked in terms of ten more agreements, but there
seems to be more than ten, i.e., a bilateral with India and a tripartite wil
Malaysia and the Philippines.)
Over a period of years he has develoted close contacts in most of the
neighboring countries whom he visits periodically "to test the water" for ?
possible agreement. He said that hi a next trips will probably be to the ?
Philippines and Australia. Agreement wiin India Is probably the lowest on
his list. of priorities pending resolutiot of the Bangle. Dash recognitiou
question while Singapore may be one of tIe most. difficult. (He did not ga
into -detail concerning the rroble4 with Eingapore but indicated that the
oThe English version of the bilateral agreement with the date "October 17"
is in error.
COlinDENTIAL
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MEMORANDUM OF CO
COHFIDENTIAL
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elleate for agreement was less than ideal.) He asked for our assistance
in Ir ng contact with the local representative of the South Vietnam
Chamber of Comeerce. He aaeo asked if we knew which oil companies had
offered bids on the offshore South Vietnam concession areas and 'which
companies bad been awarded offshore areas.
3. Survey of the Straits of Malacca
Various Indonesian newspapers reported in early January that the joint
(Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan) hydrograrhie survey of the
Straits of Malacca had been completed in December and that "the result of
the survey, after being processed by a joint team, has been jointly and
simultaneously released." The joint survey conducted between October 1,
1971 and December 19, 1971 eaa compoeed.of a team of 16 Indonesians, .
16 Japanese, three Malaysians and three Singaporeans using the Indonesian
ships R.I. Burudjulasad, R.I. Jalanidhi and R.I. Aries. A few days later
(January 11) the press reported that the announcement of the results of the
survey scheduled to be released January 6 "has been postponed indefinitely."
Then, on Jauuary 18, the press reported that representatives of the four
countries, after a three-day meeting, "finalized technical arrangements
foe the second phase Of the joiut hydrographic survey of the Malacca-
Singapore Straits." The second phase is to begin February 7 and is to
take four months. Indcaesien and Malaysian survey ships will be utilized
with crews comeosea of technicians from the four countries involved.
In commenting on the report of the first phase, Soembarjono said that
Indonesia, Malaysia and Siegapore were very disturbed by the draft Japanese
report discussed at the IMCO meeting last December in London because it -
included a proposal to place the Straits under tbe control of an inter-
national committee. Consequently, the repot, -Alia may be made public as
early as next month, is being rewritten by the Jaeaneae to reflect the
controlling interests of the three riparian countries-
KRA Camel or Pipeline
SoeMbarjono said the Thei have virtually lost all interest in con-
structing either a pipeline or a sea level Ktg-MEET-1767ERnhe Andaman
Sea and the Gulf of Siam. tr.2itEcLiatW..aLj.,sl.11.e_aEl.a,apeeetklems with
tiejdualiaspasataoreLerehemoral_ro_dblocks.
SoeMberjono was understaudably proud of the role he played in the signing
of the first tripartite offehore boundary agreement in Southeast Asian
history. Anxious to solve problems that could develop into possible sources
of conflict in the. future, to establish practical bilateral and multilateral
COMMENT
CONFIDLNIIAL
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'IMENORANDUM OF CONMSATIOR
working reletionsUps on regional probleAs., and to open up otYibore
areas for ?exploration and development.vithout fear of competing claimg. by
different countries;, iudonesia has mcrpeatblished a precedent for.tri-
partite..agreetents that should serve themTell in the future.
GP -3. -- Downgraded at 12-year t.mtervals,
not automaticallj declassified.
ECON :jilMaz,jj :I /31/72
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CpNFIDENTIAL
gEOPMERWRE, Oil awl g I s s IIMICIEMMUNIRTMERMINVEFIEWM
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