Incident May Push Jakarta to Take More Active Role in Territorial Rows

The Straits Times

23 March 2016

The exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of littoral states in the South China Sea overlap with China’s nine-dash line, feeding into the territorial disputes between the Asian powerhouse, Taiwan and several nations in South-east Asia.

Indonesia, however, was never a party to the dispute, but it seems to have been dragged into a similar territorial fracas with China, after Beijing said on Monday that the waters in Indonesia’s EEZ are part of its “traditional fishing grounds”.

Jakarta has refuted the claim and, in a rare show of assertiveness, threatened to take the issue to arbitration, following a similar move by the Philippines. A second lawsuit against China may change the state of play in the long-running dispute, but most observers questioned if Indonesia will carry out its threat.

… The Natunas incident may push Indonesia into taking a more active role in the territorial saga, said Mr Emirza Adi Syailendra, an analyst from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. “Although the diplomatic tension as a result of this incident will only be temporary, it will likely push Indonesia to have a clearer and coherent regional policy to dispute,” he added.

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Last updated on 23/03/2016