The Indonesian government has rejected Singapore's accusation that the ban on sand exports to the city-state was unnecessary, replying that Indonesia had good reason to impose the ban, local press said Tuesday.

Indonesia argued that sand mining had caused very severe environmental damage in many islands, including in Sebayik and Nipah islands.

Sand mining also had deteriorated areas of Indonesia's outer islands, threatening to narrow the nation's territory, reported The Jakarta Post newspaper, quoting an official as saying.

The official, who asked for anonymity, added that since some parts of the Indonesia-Singapore border were still in dispute, the mining, which is often in these areas, could cause Indonesia to lose the basis for some territorial claims.

Indonesia's ban on the export of sand took effect last week, and applied to all states. But Singapore was hit hardest by the ban. The nation has been by far the largest importer of Indonesian sand, for use on its ongoing land reclamation projects.

"We have very strong reasons to ban sand exports to any country, including Singapore," Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya said on Monday.

Source: Xinhua