Namely, the Indonesian foreign ministry has filed a formal complaint to China over alleged violations of the Indonesian EEZ in the area of the Natuna Islands, which is one of the many regional flash points in the conflict over sovereignty in the South China Sea.
It is said that China claims almost all the South China Sea based on historical Chinese activity in the region and not on international law. The claim’s boundaries are defined loosely by Beijing’s nine-dash line chart and extend hundreds of miles south of the recognized Chinese EEZ boundary. Yet, UNCLOS restricts EEZ claims to 200 nm from the nation’s own shores.
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The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs now stresses that China’s historically based claims to fishing rights inside other nations’ EEZs are not supported by UNCLOS, and that these claims have already been rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague.
What is more, the ministry took the unusual step of rejecting China’s use of the neutral term “relevant waters” to refer to Indonesia’s EEZ; the phrase follows a format often used by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs when discussing disputes.
In fact, the ministry wrote that “Indonesia rejects the term the ‘relevant waters’ claimed by [China] because this term is unknown and is incompatible with UNCLOS 1982. The minister further stressed that according to the UNCLOS 1982, “Indonesia does not have overlapping claims with the PRC so that it is not relevant to have any dialogue on maritime boundary delimitation.”
This comes after a series of unauthorized incursions by Chinese fishing boats and China Coast Guard escort vessels into Indonesian waters. Notably, according to Indonesia’s Maritime Security Agency, more than 50 Chinese fishing vessels and government ships entered the Indonesian EEZ on Tuesday, December 24.
The ministry stressed that
An interagency meeting at the Foreign Ministry confirmed that there were violations in the Indonesian EEZ, including IUU fishing activities and violations of sovereignty by China’s Coast Guard in Natuna waters.
In response, the ministry called China’s ambassador to Jakarta, Xiao Qian, to protest the incursions and to further communicate that Indonesia will not recognize the Chinese nine-dash line claim.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said that the presence of China Coast Guard vessels is normal and expected in the area as
China has historical rights in the South China Sea. Chinese fishermen have long been engaging in fishery activities in relevant waters near the [Chinese-claimed Spratly Islands], which has all along been legal and legitimate. The China Coast Guard were performing their duty by carrying out routine patrol to maintain maritime order and protect our people’s legitimate rights and interests in the relevant waters.
Reuters reports that the South China Sea, is an important trade route which is believed to contain large quantities of oil and natural gas. It is added that several Southeast Asian states dispute China’s territorial claims and are competing with the aim to exploit the South China Sea’s abundant hydrocarbon and fishing resources. China has raised the ante by deploying military assets on artificial islands constructed on shoals and reefs in disputed parts of the sea.
