VIVAnews - The Department of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has named around 13,366 Indonesian islands up until March 2009.
"We are targeting that the naming and verifying processes of the Indonesian islands will be completed this year," said Director of Small Islands Management of the Directorate General of Small Coastal Islands at the Department of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Alex SW Retraubun, during campaigning Law on Maritime Affairs.
Retraubun said the survey and naming processes have been carried out since 2005. Around five percent of the islands are inhabited, yet are commonly lacking infrastructure. According to him, the naming process is concerned with an attempt to sustain Indonesia as an archipelago.
During the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (UNCSGN) held in Montreal, Canada in 1987, Indonesia was warned by the chairperson of the conference. "Indonesia should have reported the standardisation of geographical names instead of informing the quantity," he said.
The United Nations reminded as well that there is UNCSGN Resolution No.4/1967 on the establishment of national agency for geographical names as the authority to standardize geographical names of its members.
Retraubun went on to say that the naming and standardization of islands are the evidence that Indonesia obeys the UN resolution.
The government claimed that it possesses 17,504 islands. However, the government does not have official documentation on them. (tvone)
Kondisi Terkini Chandrika Chika di Tahanan, Usai Jadi Tersangka Kasus Narkoba
Usai resmi ditahan, orangtua Chandrika Chika langsung menjenguk sang putri. Ibunda Chandrika Chika, Poppy Putry, mengungkapkan bahwa anaknya dalam keadaan yang baik.
