evidence: Pending resolution of the territorial dispute, a related but distinct maritime dispute commenced when Indonesia began unilaterally exercising sovereign rights over the seabed east of Tarakan, North Kalimantan and south of 4° 10’ N latitude. This included the issuance of petroleum concession contracts for the Ambalat and Ambalat East blocks in 1999 and 2004 respectively; the blocks are located directly south of the Sipadan and Ligitan Islands. Indonesia’s issuance of contracts for these areas ignored Malaysia’s own unilateral claim to a portion of the seabed indicated by a map of its continental shelf published in 1979; this covered a considerable area adjacent to North Kalimantan. However, Malaysia did not take any action upon the Ambalat blocks until 2005, when it issued its own petroleum concession contracts, designated ND6 and ND7, that partly overlapped with the Indonesian contract areas. This led to tensions flaring in 2005 and 2009 on account of reports about naval and maritime law enforcement activities in the area, both sides’ insistence on their respective unilaterally-claimed sea zones, inflammatory media coverage, and the public outcries that followed. Fortunately, the political leadership on both sides managed to prevent further escalation.