Indonesia to take over airspace from Singapore in quid-pro-quo deal

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong takes a "wefie" photo with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on the sidelines of their leaders retreat on Bintan Island on Tuesday.(Courtesy of/Presidential Secretariat)

Indonesia has struck a deal with Singapore to take over the management of strategic airspace over a busy global travel route, the leaders of the two countries said, after years of dogged negotiations. However, Singapore also insisted that the deal to realign the Flight Information Region (FIR) should come into effect alongside a revised extradition treaty and renewed commitment to a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), which had fallen by the wayside since 2007. The new deal puts pressure on Indonesian lawmakers to ratify all agreements at once. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the agreement on Tuesday on the resort island of Bintan, Riau Islands province, located just an hour’s ferry ride away from the city state, where they resumed an annual leader’s retreat after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/world/2022/01/25/indonesia-to-take-over-airspace-from-singapore-in-quid-pro-quo-deal.html

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