Indonesian President Widodo Meets Angela Merkel (Photo : Getty Images)
Neighbors of China are not allowing Beijing to bully them when it comes to claiming ownership of some islands in the South and East China Sea. After the Philippines and Japan, the latest Asian nation to make a counter-claim on an island in the region is Indonesia.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Indonesia President Joko Widodo flew to the Natuna Islands to send the message to China that Jakarta, and not Beijing, has sovereignty over that island. Just last week, the Indonesian navy caught seven Chinese fishermen on waters near Natuna which led to the confiscation of their vessel and their detention.
Widodo, who rode the Indonesian vessel KRI Imam Bonjol to visit Natuna, challenged the country’s military and maritime security to improve its patrol and securing the area. Widodo’s visit is expected to encourage about 6,000 fishing boats plying the Java Sea to navigate north to waters near Natuna instead of leaving the area as fishing grounds to other nationalities.
Because of China’s claim over some islands in the area, Rear Admiral A. Taufix R., commander of the Western Fleet of Indonesia, said Jakarta needs to resolve the issue before Beijing makes a one-sided claim to the waters near Natuna.
Luhut Pandjaitan, chief security minister of Indonesia, pointed out that while Jakarta never had an issue with Beijing in the past over islands in the region, Widodo is not taking the matter lightly, reported Channelnewsasia.
China is actually not disputing Indonesia’s claim over Natuna, but it said on Monday that “some waters of the South China Sea” were included in “overlapping claims on maritime rights and interests.”
Natuna is found 340 kilometers off the northwest end of Kalimantan, Indonesia’s part of Borneo Island.
