Indonesia sends a warship to the North Sea of Natuna

Indonesia sent a warship to disputed waters of the North Sea of Natun to follow the movements of the Chinese Coast Guard unit.

A warship, naval patrol aircraft and drone were deployed in the disputed waters of the North Sea of Natuna to track the movements of the Chinese ship. The Chinese unit has not carried out any military action, but we need to check the movements of this ship because it has been in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Indonesia for some time now.
Laxaman Muhammad Ali, Chief of the Indonesian Navy

Vessel tracking data indicate that the Chinese Coast Guard unit, CCG 5901, has been in the waters of the North Sea of Natuna since 30 December, near the Indonesian Tuna Block gas field and the Vietnamese oil and gas field Chim Sao, reported the agency Reuters Indonesian organization Ocean Justice Initiative.

Chinese ship CCG 5901 is the world's largest Coast Guard unit and, due to its size, bears the nickname "monster". The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) gives ships the right to navigation through the EEZ.

The presence of a Chinese unit can signal the increasing aggression of Beijing and follows after Vietnam and Indonesia have reached an agreement on their WSE borders in this area. Indonesia has also recently approved Tun's gas field development plan, including an investment for over US$3 billion to start production.

The largest South-East Asian nation claims that according to UNCLOS, the southern tip of the South China Sea is its exclusive economic zone, and in 2017 he named the area as the North Sea of Natuna. This was part of the opposition to maritime territorial ambitions and claims of China in the South China Sea.

In 2021, the ships of Indonesia and China for several months observed ship movements near an underwater drilling platform that carried out tests in the Indonesian gas field development zone. At the time China called on Indonesia to stop the trial drilling, claiming that these actions took place in their waters.

Beijing continues to take action on the borderline of law to harass other contenders to disputed areas in the South China Sea. The Central State claims that the Indonesian maritime area is within their expansional territorial claims in the disputed waters, which designate the U-shaped Line of Nine Kresek. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague concluded in 2016 that the Nine Kresek Line has no legal basis.

In the past, Indonesia has repeatedly retained Chinese boats and patrol units in the Natuna Island area as a result of which it increased its military presence in that region. For over a decade China has made it clear that it does not have to wage war to achieve its goals. Beijing has chosen the method of a low intensity coercion conflict in which China uses gradual steps to extend actual control over the disputed waters.

Source: Reuters