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SINGAPORE: Analysts in Singapore believe the two pacts signed between Singapore and Jakarta on Friday will deepen bilateral ties and pave the way for closer ASEAN integration.
Cooperation between the Singapore and Indonesian militaries go back more than 30 years.
And with the defence cooperation agreement inked, both parties will have more opportunities to deepen ties.
The Singapore Army will now have access to new training ground in Baturaja, where it will soon construct support infrastructure.
The Singapore Navy can conduct naval gun firing exercises at Pulau Kayu Ara in the South China Sea.
And the Singapore Air Force will have access to an Air Combat Manoeuvring Range at Pekanbaru.
The Air Force will also operate a Air Weapons Range for air-to-ground weapons training at Pekanbaru.
Both the Singapore Navy and Air Force have used the facilities at Pekanbaru and Pulau Kayu Ara for training before, but this came to a stop in 2003 when an earlier defence agreement between Indonesia and Singapore expired.
The Indonesian military can also utilise all these facilities which Singapore will maintain.
The 25 year Defence Cooperation Agreement will be reviewed again 13 years after implementation.
A Defence Cooperation Committee will also be established to oversee cooperation under the agreement.
"It's a significant act that both treaties, both agreements were signed at the same time. Both sides have certain difficulties, certain pressures, but at the end of the day, it was a reconciliation of mutual interest," says K Kesavapany, Director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Under the Extradition Treaty, persons extraditable must commit offences punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than 24 months.
The requesting party must provide sufficient evidence, that an offence has taken place.
This clause has caused some analysts to express doubt, as to how effective the treaty would be, in recovering funds allegedly parked in Singapore by corrupt individuals.
"The burden is on the Indonesian government themselves, and also the legal system, whether or not they are able to produce strong and adequate evidence to extradite persons," says Bahtiar Effendy, Senior Fellow, Indonesia Programme, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.
"I think we have to use international standards in defining what strong evidence is. Even to gather strong evidence against any individual alleged in committing a crime in Indonesia, at the end of the day, those people are set free, acquitted by the court, that's already a challenge, let alone now, we are compelled to gather evidence that meets international standards."
Both the extradition treaty and the defence cooperation agreement need to be ratified by the Indonesian parliament before they come into effect.
It is not clear how long the Indonesian parliament will take but one thing is for certain, observers say a heated debate is expected in Jakarta in the weeks ahead, over the details of both pacts. - CNA/yy
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