Circumventing conflict: The indonesia–malaysia ambalat block dispute

Abstract

The Ambalat block dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia has been the most controversial issue between the two countries since konfrontasi came to an end in 1966. The dispute arose from the two country’s overlapping claims to sovereign rights in the oil rich Ambalat region and intensified in the first decade of the twenty-first century when a naval stand-off between the two sides threatened to escalate the dispute into a military conflict. However, numerous measures, practices and approaches were used to manage, although not resolve, the dispute peacefully. The chapter provides a comprehensive background to the origins and development of the dispute, the factors driving its escalation and subsequent de-escalation, and discusses the various short, medium and long-term management conflict mechanisms employed by the two sides that have mitigated their incompatibilities and successfully circumvented conflict.