Jakarta, Feb 26 (NNN-ANTARA) Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo AS has said 12 of Indonesia`s outer islands are prone to economic, security or geographic conflicts.

"Among the 12 islands are Rondo Island which borders the Indian Ocean, Berhala Island which borders the Malacca Strait and Nipah Island which lies on the border with Singapore," Widodo said in a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR)`s Commission I here on Monday.

The three islands had the potential of causing geopolitical, economic and security conflicts, he said.

To protect the outer islands, the Indonesian government has taken several steps, including developing facilities on the islands.

On Nipah Island, for instance, the government had continued the reconstruction and reclamation program. Development of transportation, navigation and communication facilities were also being carried out in a number of outer islands, the minister said.

A number of naval and army officers were also stationed on those islands, he added.

Indonesia would also continue giving names to nameless islands and set up ownership and sovereignty symbols on the islands, he said.

In addition to the 12 conflict-prone islands, Indonesia also had 92 islands which share borders with a number of countries, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, East Timor, India and PNG.

The Government will secure and protect the islands through military and non-military measures, the coordinating minister told the legislators.

In the working meeting between the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs and the House of Representatives, other topics such as terrorism and counter-terrorism were also discussed.

The hearing was also attended by Home Affairs Minister Moh Ma`ruf, Chief of the National Defense Forces (TNI) Marshal Djoko Suyanto, National Police Chief General Sutanto, Head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) Syamsir Siregar, Defense Minster Juwono Sudarsono and Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh.