LEASING OF VACANT ISLANDS FROM INDONESIA

LEASING OF VACANT ISLANDS FROM INDONESIA: 3.

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs in view of Indonesia's willingness to lease one of its islands to a private Australian company for use as a tourist resort, whether the Singapore Government will approach Indonesia to enquire if it will be willing to lease one of its 17,000 vacant islands to Singapore to develop it for mutual benefit.

Mr George Yong-Boon Yeo: We are not in a position to comment on Indonesia's willingness to lease their islands to private companies. The Singapore Government has no plans to lease any islands from Indonesia.

Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir): What are the stumbling blocks which the Minister can foresee in leasing a vacant island from Indonesia?

Mr George Yong-Boon Yeo: By leasing, I believe Mr Chiam is referring to the leasing of sovereignty, not just the leasing of land use –

Mr Chiam See Tong: I think sovereignty is out of the question. I was asking about a purely commercial transaction.

Mr George Yong-Boon Yeo: In that case, it is not a problem because there are commercial agreements between the Indonesian government or provinces with Singapore legal entities and that is fine. But the Singapore Government is not involved in that.