Thursday, November 30, 2006 Security a 'big issue' in Jags-CT trade ties
GLAN, Sarangani -- Mayor Enrique Yap Jr. on Tuesday asked visiting officials and businessmen from Indonesia's Sangihe Regency to include security as a "big issue" in their sisterhood talks.
"We are very proximate with each other. The distance is very near," Yap said.
Yap chairs the Jose Abad Santos-Glan-Sarangani Cooperation Triangle (Jags-CT), a grouping of towns in southern Philippines facing Indonesia's North Sulawesi province.
"There's a big issue about JI (Jemaah Islamiyah). If we can solve this problem because you are the exit in Indonesia and we are the entrance in the Philippines, if we can coordinate with each other, then this problem can easily be solved," Yap said.
The Regency of Sangihe, which is part of North Sulawesi Province, is the nearest Indonesian group of islands to Glan. It has 112 islands lying between the bigger islands of Sulawesi and Mindanao.
Mayors of Jags-CT and local officials from Sangihe Regency signed sisterhood agreements Tuesday "to promote favorable relations of partnership and cooperation."
Yap explained the agreement covers not only trade. "We talk about security," he said.
"It is time for us to help each other not only in business and trade but we also see to it to include security," the mayor said.
Jags-CT officials have laid down Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security (CIQS) services at the limited international port of Glan ahead of the exchange of trade missions between North Sulawesi and Jags-CT.
The Philippine Navy has also established a naval detachment here, with a coast watch station facing Celebes Sea.
