Indonesia, Singapore Ink FIR Realignment Agreement

President Jokowi Tuesday (01/25) witnesses the signing of the Indonesia-Singapore FIR Realignment Agreement in Bintan regency, Riau Islands province. (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Laily Rachev)

Indonesia and Singapore have agreed to realign the Flight Information Region (FIR) over Riau Islands and Natuna Islands air space.

The air navigation service for areas above Riau Islands and Natuna Islands, previously under Singapore’s civil aviation authorities, will now be managed by Airnav Indonesia.

The FIR Realignment Agreement was signed by Ministry of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi and Singapore’s Minister of Transport S. Iswaran, witnessed directly by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Singaporean Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (01/25) in Bintan regency, Riau Islands province.

“Through the signing of the FIR realignment agreement, the scope of the Jakarta FIR will cover all of Indonesia’s territorial airspace, especially in the waters around Riau Islands and Natuna Islands,” said the President in a joint statement with the Singaporean PM.

The President expressed hope that in the future, cooperation in law enforcement, aviation safety, and defense and security of the two countries can continue to be bolstered based on the principle of mutual benefit.

Meanwhile, Budi stated that this realignment agreement is a result of various negotiation efforts made over the years by the Government.

“Thank God, today is a landmark day for the Indonesian people. We have succeeded in carrying out the mandate of Law Number 1 of 2009 on Aviation. This is proof of the Government’s commitment,” Budi said.

The Minister also said that to speed up the implementation of this realignment agreement, the Government will intensively carry out further procedures in accordance with applicable laws and regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

“The agreement has also confirmed Indonesia’s sovereignty and sovereign rights. As a state party to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Singapore also recognized the application of the principle of an archipelagic state in determining the boundaries of the state and Indonesia’s jurisdiction in the waters and air space in the Riau and Bintan islands,” he said.

For the record, there are five important elements in the agreement.

First, the realignment of boundary of the Jakarta FIR which covers the entire territory of Indonesia so that the waters around the Riau and Natuna Islands which were previously included in the Singapore FIR now become part of the Jakarta FIR.

Second, Indonesia has the right to and is responsible for the Provision of Aviation Services (PJP) in Indonesia FIR that is in line with the boundaries of the territorial sea.

In this regard, Budi stated that Indonesia will cooperate with Singapore to provide PJP in some areas of the Indonesia FIR bordering the Singapore FIR. Indonesia will provide a delegation of flight services in certain areas at an altitude of 0-37,000 feet to Singapore’s civil aviation authorities. However, altitudes of 37,000 feet and above remain under Indonesian control.

This policy is implemented so that the air traffic controllers of the two countries can prevent fragmentation and effectively coordinate aircraft traffic that will fly to and from Singapore at a certain altitude. The limited delegation of PJP in certain areas of the Jakarta FIR to Singapore certainly does not exclude Indonesia’s authority to carry out civil and military activities in accordance with its sovereignty and sovereign rights in Indonesian airspace. The Indonesian aviation authority will continue to coordinate flights throughout the Jakarta FIR area.

Third, in addition to agreeing on the management of air space for civil aviation, Singapore also agreed to establish a framework for Civil and Military ATM Cooperation (CMAC). The goal is to ensure the opening of active lines of communication that guarantees that there will be no violation of Indonesia’s sovereignty and sovereign rights.

Hence, the Indonesian Government will place several civilian and military personnel at the Singapore Air Traffic Control Centre (SATCC). This is stated in the signed FIR realignment agreement. In addition, as part of this limited PJP delegation, the Singapore aviation authority is also obliged to prevent and inform the Indonesian air defense authorities of possible airspace violations by foreign aircraft.

Fourth, Singapore is also required to hand over handling charges for flight services provided to aircraft flying to and from Singapore to Indonesia.

The PJP delegation will also be closely monitored and evaluated by Ministry of Transportation. Evaluation of the PJP delegation will be carried out in Singapore on a regular basis and periodically by placing Indonesian personnel on the Singapore air traffic control tower.

Fifth, Indonesia also has the right to conduct operational evaluations on the provision of flight navigation services carried out by Singapore to ensure compliance with ICAO provisions. (PR of Ministry of Transportation/PR of Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment/UN) (FI/MUR)