Indonesia has stepped up security patrols around several islands in the South China Sea after expelling a Chinese coast guard vessel that had been stranded in the country’s North Natuna exclusive economic zone for several days, according to Indonesian patrol boats.
Aan Kurnia, director general of Indonesia’s maritime agency, said Tuesday (Sept. 15) that under international law, foreign vessels can “pass harmlessly” through another country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). He noted, however, that the Chinese coast guard ship had been in the area for too long.
Indonesia’s Maritime Safety Agency said it spotted the Chinese vessel, No. 5204, entering the waters of Indonesia’s North Natuna EEZ last Friday night, and it stayed there for three days.
The Indonesian side sent a patrol boat to the area where the Chinese Coast Guard vessel was active, and the nearest distance to the Chinese vessel was 1 kilometer. The two sides communicated, stating their respective positions and claims to the waters.
The Natuna archipelago consists of 272 islands with a total area of 2,110 square kilometers. Cunha was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “We asked them to leave because this is Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone. However, they insisted that the waters were within China’s nine-dash line and belonged to Chinese territorial waters,” Cunha was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. The officers on our patrol boat insisted on talking to them until they left.”
Cunha said the Chinese coast guard vessel finally left the North Natuna waters at 11:20 a.m. Monday. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry has communicated with the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta about the Chinese Coast Guard vessel’s entry into the waters.
China’s so-called “nine-dash line,” which encompasses almost the entire South China Sea, was ruled on by the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2016 in a dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea brought by the Philippines, which almost entirely rejected the legality of China’s nine-dash line sovereignty position. However, China did not accept the ruling.
Indonesia has no territorial claims in the South China Sea, but a portion of Indonesia’s North Natuna EEZ falls within the “nine-dash line” and has become an ongoing point of friction and dispute between Indonesia and China.
Sovereignty over the Natuna Islands belongs to Indonesia. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) around a piece of land is an exclusive economic zone, and only the country that has sovereignty over the land has the right to exploit it.
The South China Sea accounts for more than 10% of the world’s fish catch, and neighboring countries are taking increasingly drastic measures to secure their share. However, fishery resources have been drastically reduced due to overfishing and the destruction of coral reefs. Some studies show that coral reefs are so damaged that they are on the verge of collapse.
In recent years, China has been reclaiming islands in the South China Sea, and has built seven large artificial islands and military facilities such as airports and missile launch bases on them, increasing tensions in the South China Sea.
In the last two years, Chinese coast guard vessels have increasingly entered the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of neighboring countries, and Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam have all clashed with Chinese vessels in their own EEZs.
From last December to January, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel protecting a Chinese fishing boat entered the waters of North Natuna and was involved in a week-long standoff with the Indonesian side. The Indonesian side also deployed fighter jets and mobilized its own fishermen.
The Chinese side has maintained that the operation of its Coast Guard vessel was legitimate.
Recent Comments