NEW DELHI: Indonesia rejects power projection by any single nation in the South China Sea, asserted the country’s maritime affairs minister General (Retd.) Luhut Bonsar Pandjaitan on Thursday.
Delivering a special lecture on bilateral relationship ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Indonesia, the minister said that ties with India will help his country in maintaining balance of power in Southeast Asia and reiterated claims over its maritime domain in the South China Sea.
“Indonesia has sea and land territories that directly face the South China Sea. The stability of South China Sea is in the interest of all countries, hence we refuse any power projection (in the region). Indonesia will always assert its control of the Natuna (including 200 miles of Exclusive Economic Zone) through development of the area, military presence, and maritime domain awareness,” said Mr. Pandjaitan in the lecture, held at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and organised by the India-Indonesia Friendship Society.
In 2017 Indonesia named the sea near the Natuna islands as the North Natuna Sea in a show of resistance against China’s nine-dash line that demarcates Beijing’s territorial claims in the maritime region. Through a detailed cartographical presentation, the minister showed that Indonesia’s maritime domain including the northern reaches of its Exclusive Economic Zone push into the South China Sea covering the islands that it claims. Hinting at his country’s strategy to counter China’s claims in the maritime body, Mr. Pandjaitan said that “settlement of overlapping claims over territory has to be done amicably through negotiations.”
The minister hinted that Beijing’s claim on South China Sea was not firm as it was based on “sentiment” and the travel of a historic admiral “Zheng He”. The minister highlighted the importance of the location of Indonesia, which is the natural guardian of the Strait of Malacca, and said that more than $5 trillion of international trade passes through South China Sea every year and stability of the region is therefore desired by both sides. The visit by the important minister comes days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s May 29-31 visit to Indonesia.
“Closer relationship between India and Indonesia is very important for the balance of power in the region. Trajectory of bilateral relationship between both countries, with its size, large economy, and independent foreign policy will affect architectures in the region,” he said, laying down the seven-point maritime policy of Indonesia which gives importance to maritime diplomacy.
