Indonesia this
week opened a military base with more than 1,000 personnel on the southern tip
of the disputed South China Sea, where the territorial claims of China and
several other countries overlap.
The base, which opened on
Tuesday, is located in Selat Lampa on Natuna Besar Island – part of the Natuna
Islands – one of the country’s outermost areas and more than 200km off the
island of Borneo.
Indonesia is not a claimant
state in the South China Sea but Jakarta and Beijing have had several maritime
skirmishes in the resource-rich area, including one in 2016 when an Indonesian
patrol boat seized a 300-tonne Chinese fishing vessel.
Several hours later, a Chinese
Coast Guard vessel rammed the fishing boat, resulting in the Indonesian
authorities releasing it.
At an inauguration ceremony
for the base, Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) chief Marshal Hadi
Tjahjanto said the outpost is designed to work as a deterrent against any
potential security threats, particularly on border areas, according to military
spokesman Colonel Sus Taibur Rahman.
On Wednesday, Indonesian
president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who is seeking re-election next year, stressed
the Indonesian government was ready to make clear that the Natuna Islands, with
a population of 169,000, are its sovereign territory.
Collin Koh Swee Lean, an
analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said
the plan for a military hub in the Natuna Islands had been in the making for
years.
“The March 2016 incident with
China gave more impetus to the plan,” Koh said.
Aaron Connelly, a research
fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, described Jokowi’s
comments as “clearly campaign rhetoric”.
“He was primed to say
something tough on the subject by the previous speaker, Yenny Wahid,” Connelly
said, referring to the daughter of Indonesia’s fourth president, Abdurrahman
Wahid.
“And perhaps also by the
setting: he was speaking at a gathering of religious scholars in Madura, which
has a celebrated reputation for bellicosity among Indonesians.”
Hadi did not disclose the
exact number of military personnel in the Natuna Islands area, but said the new
base is supported by an army battalion, companies of marines and engineers, and
artillery. In Indonesia’s military, a battalion consists of between 825 and
1,000 personnel, while a company consists of about 100 personnel.
“The development of this kind
of military base will also be done in other strategic islands,” Hadi said.
The new base has a hangar for
an unmanned aerial vehicle squadron, according to Hadi, and would be improved
in accordance with threat levels, with personnel there prepared to join in any
military operation.
Photos on the official Twitter
feed of the TNI’s Information Centre also showed an inauguration ceremony for a
hospital to serve military personnel at the base.
The South China Sea is home to
some of the world’s busiest sea lanes and China has overlapping territorial
claims with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan.
Although China recognises
Indonesian sovereignty over the Natuna Islands, it insists the two countries
have overlapping claims to maritime rights and interests in the area that need
to be resolved – a claim Indonesia rejects.
Last year, the Indonesian government
presented an updated national map in which the country’s exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) north of the Natuna Islands was renamed the North Natuna Sea. It was
previously described as being part of the South China Sea.
In 2002, Indonesia renamed the
section of the South China Sea within its EEZ the Natuna Sea, except for the
waters north of the Natuna Islands. With the latest name change, the South
China Sea is no longer used for any part of Indonesia’s territorial waters.
Immediately after the name
change, China expressed opposition to the move, saying it would result in
complications and the expansion of the dispute. Changing an internationally
recognised name would also affect peace and stability, and is not conducive to
a peaceful relationship between Jakarta and Beijing, it said.
Indonesia countered, however,
that it had the right to name its own territorial waters and that the North
Natuna Sea falls within its territory.
But while Indonesia has
focused on protecting its own interests around the Natuna Islands, this does
not mean it wants to antagonise China, given Widodo’s interest in drawing
Chinese investment for infrastructure projects, according to a report by
Australian think tank, The Lowy Institute.
“Despite Jokowi’s resolute
rhetoric on maritime rights, Indonesia has sought to ensure its campaign
against illegal fishing does not target Chinese vessels; and in regional
diplomacy, Jokowi’s administration has been eager to ensure it does not offend
Beijing,” said Connelly, who wrote the report. South China Morning Post
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