New deals on airspace, defence, and extradition to be finalised in Bintan on Tuesday
On Tuesday, January 25, Singapore and Indonesia will sign a series of agreements covering airspace management, extradition, and defence cooperation during their 5th Leaders’ Retreat in Bintan. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo will oversee the signing and exchange of these agreements, which have been developed based on the Framework for Discussions initiated at the 2019 Leaders’ Retreat.
Key Agreements to be Signed
The agreements include the realignment of the Jakarta Flight Information Region (FIR) boundary, a treaty on the extradition of fugitives, and an update to the 2007 Defence Cooperation Agreement. The updated defence arrangement will focus on the Military Training Area in Indonesia and will see the Singapore Armed Forces and Indonesian Armed Forces implement a new agreement. An Exchange of Letters will bring these agreements into force simultaneously.
The FIR agreement is particularly significant. While Singapore has managed the FIR over the Riau Islands since 1946, Indonesia has called for control over this airspace. However, Singapore maintains that the FIR is an issue of aviation safety and efficiency, not sovereignty.
Strengthening Bilateral Relations
This retreat will also include the endorsement of several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) focused on enhancing cooperation in key areas such as financial and economic development, green economy, energy, and human capital. The leaders will review progress made since their last retreat and discuss future avenues for collaboration on regional and global matters.
This marks the first retreat since October 2019, with no meetings held in the interim due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The upcoming discussions will build on the Framework for Discussions signed during the previous retreat, which focused on the status of the FIR and military training rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Prime Minister Lee will be accompanied by several senior officials, including Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
