Seize China Fishing Boat in Natuna EEZ, No Compromise About It

Indonesia has long settled the boundary around Natuna EEZ by UNCLOS with its neighboring countries. The border is now there firmly set up and recognized internationally except China. Indonesia regards China’s unilateral claim on the part of Natuna EEZ as their fishing ground is baseless. For Indonesia, holding negotiations with any country that tries to challenge its EEZ  is useless.

China has a dual system in running their country. In dealing with government affairs, it’s Communist Party who takes charge while in business; the party allows the government to adopt liberalism. The Communist Party knows that its Nine Dash-lines product will confront the ASEAN countries’ interest in the South China Sea (SCS). At the same time, they are willing to keep the business relationship with ASEAN countries intact.

China doesn’t seem confident in what they do in Natuna water. They are always escorting their fishing boats with their coastguards, the funniest thing that a country has ever done. It precisely what happened related to incidents taking in Natuna EEZ. The last incident occurred on June 18, 2016, when the Navy’s KRI Imam Bonjol 383 chased twelve Chinese fishing vessels a firing towards one of them (Yueyandong Yu 19038) after giving several warnings in concordance with the standard procedure. The warship commander stood firm and ignored the Chinese coastguards that tried to interfere with the vessel seizing.

The maneuver of so many China fishing boats could be suspected to test the water rather than solely catching the fish. Having faced such a situation, Indonesia must show its stern position to the world that Indonesia would never back off no matter the provocation comes. For Indonesia, the integrity of its EEZ is a matter of principle and will defend it at all cost.

Indonesia should be very cautious towards the sincerity of China’s statement on its recognition on the Natuna Islands as an integral part of Indonesia’s territory. It is now clear that China recognizes only the islands but not their surrounding water. The issue becomes more dangerous as China had issued a position paper in December 2014 that the dispute in SCS was a matter of sovereignty, not exploitation rights. Does China have a hidden agenda that sometime in the future they will claim the Dash-lines crossing Natuna EEZ as the delimitation of their sovereignty?

Being aware of China’s aggressiveness in imposing its claim, Indonesia could no longer maintain its neutral position. Indonesia should not behave like an ostrich and being selfish, ignoring their fellows ASEAN desperately confronting head-to-head with China in SCS. ASEAN should stand united against China, and as the most prominent nation among the community, Indonesia should stand in front.

One example of the embarrassing diplomatic move was what happened in ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Kunming, China, on June 14, 2016. It was sad to see that ASEAN broke apart, letting China take the leading role pressuring ASEAN countries to adopt Beijing’s stance in SCS. China has been keeping eyes on the gas-rich area in SCS and possibly in Natuna water as well. They could extend their claim on the right to exploit marine resources in the Natuna sea to the right to use the continental shelf beneath. This suspicion is logical if we look to what they did to build an oil platform in Vietnam offshore in 2014, which they claimed as theirs.

China claimed that the Nine Dash-Lines was a marine empire boundary established in the era of the Ming Dynasty around the 12^th century. Historically, we are doubtful that China ever ruled the waves imposing their power even on SCS. China was never becoming a naval country, and also, if they were so, it should occur in a brief period. Indonesia, on the other hand, was a maritime nation for a long time. In the era of Sriwijaya in the 8^th century and Majapahit in the 14^th century, the Royal Navy conquered what is now known as the Indonesian archipelago, Malaysia included.  Gajah Mada, one of the great Majapahit warlords,  sent big expeditions far west to Madagascar  (the island bears his name). Some in smaller groups had sailed up north as far as Taiwan and Japan. The people in Sulawesi and the eastern part of Indonesia had traditionally sailed off to the east across the Pacific Ocean, reaching as far as New Zealand in the south, Hawaii and Eastern Islands in the remote east. The vast area was known as the world of Tagaroa, the name of their common marine god.

The wooden boat generation, known as Phinisi, which was used by Indonesian ancestors, still survives until today, going around across the archipelago. Several expeditions have taken place using the replica of the ancient wooden boats heading to Madagascar and just recently to Japan, proving that such journeys were not only historical tales. Indonesia has more justification than what China did in claiming its maritime empire. Indonesia could include a much wider area by drawing Nine Thousand Dash-Lines covering those historical marine areas, including SCS. However, Indonesia was not that crazy to seriously pose such a notorious claim.

China Never Recognizes Indonesian EEZ in Natuna Sea

On Monday, March 21, 2016, the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, called the Charge d’Affaires of Chinese Embassy, Sun Wei Dei, protesting him for China’s aggressive violation on Indonesian right over their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Natuna Islands.  She put stress that Indonesia is not among the claimant countries over the South  China Sea (SCS), so it is inappropriate for China to launch such aggressive action.

The incident which took place on Saturday, March 19, 2016, happened when Kway Fey 10078, Chinese fishing ship, ran around and collided in purpose the Indonesian coast guard KP Hiu 11 that pursued it. Three Indonesian officials jumped and took over the Chinese boat transferring the Chinese crew into KP Hiu and guarded Kway Fey towards Natuna’s nearest base. On the way back just about entering into Indonesian territorial sea, a Chinese coast guard ship that silently pursued them unexpectedly collided and immobilized Kway Fey. In anticipating the aggravated situation, the three Indonesian officials jumped back to KP Hiu, abandoning Kway Fey, which was then tugged away by the Chinese coast guard ship to their nearest base in SCS. KP Hiu 11, however, kept arresting the Chinese crew and brought them to Tiga Natuna island base, waiting for the legal process.

The incident showed that China never recognizes Indonesian EEZ in the Natuna Sea. Chinese Charge d’Affaires clearly and openly stated that the fishing boat was operating in Chinese traditional fishing ground, not in Indonesia water. It is now clear for Indonesia that the issue is not merely on illegal fishing but far more severe than that, i.e., a maritime boundary dispute.

The lesson never learned. Indonesia is always naive when facing a dispute such as in continental shelf or EEZ boundaries issue. Indonesia had a bad experience with Malaysia in Sipadan disputation because of its naivety. Now, when we have a maritime incident with China in Natuna Sea EEZ, again, we cannot see what the bottom line is. Apart from several Indonesian ministerial protests put forward to the Chinese Embassy, the Indonesian Foreign Minister seemed satisfying herself by stating the China recognition over Indonesian sovereignty on the Natuna Islands and the right over their seawater. The minister failed, however, to notice that China only said their acknowledgment on Natuna seawater and never mentioned about Indonesian EEZ.

If we look at the SCS map, it is evident that China never challenges and claims Indonesia sovereignty upon the Natuna Islands. The Chinese nine-dash lines were crossing towards inside of our EEZ/Continental Shelf in the north of the Natuna Islands.  Indonesia gains nothing on China’s recognition of Indonesian sovereignty over the Natuna islands as the Chinese nine-dash line already shows it.  China indeed recognizes Natuna island as Indonesian territory and its seawater, but it doesn’t mean that it acknowledges the whole Natuna EEZ area. There is an apparent overlap between Chinese dash lines and our EEZ in the up north (see the strip lines on the map). Behaving like an ostrich, Indonesia pretends as though Chinese nine-dash lines will never pose any threat to Indonesia. As a non-claimant country, Indonesia believes that the Chinese side will do similarly.

Now it is time for Indonesia to explicitly refuse China’s nine-dash lines that cross Indonesian EEZ/Continental Shelf or elsewhere.  The dash-lines are very remote from China mainland, giving almost no room for their adversary countries to have their own EEZ. From the beginning, Indonesia should judge this as Chinese injustice arrogance towards the international community, especially its SCS neighboring countries, ignoring the basic principles of UNCLOS 1982.

Indonesia should immediately withdraw its naïve role as a mediator, behaving like a good kid in the block dreaming that Beijing will be sincere towards Jakarta. China may be stunned or even mocked about Indonesian naivety as being itself a target but behaves as though nothing harmful will happen to Indonesia.  Sooner or later, Beijing will show its true determinism in imposing the whole nine-dash lines into effect, including the section that crossing Indonesian EEZ/Continental Shelf.

And the time now comes when the Natuna incident emerged to the surface. China openly claimed that its fishing boat was operating in its traditional fishing ground. It is nothing but China’s open declaration that  Indonesian EEZ around the Natuna Islands doesn’t exist. It claims that what Indonesia considers as its EEZ  in Natuna sea covers what China regards as its traditional fishing ground in which the Chinese dash lines are the boundary.

Indonesia should be active in maintaining the integrity of its EEZ as well as its Continental Shelf. Beneath Natuna water where Indonesian EEZ is there is abundantly oil and gas accumulations. For many decades Indonesia has developed most of that hydrocarbon field, but no single claim came from China on those resources. If China doesn’t recognize Indonesian EEZ around the Natuna sea, then sometime in the future, when it feels sturdy enough with its military base in SCS, it may also challenge the Indonesian Continental Shelf in the very same area.

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister should be aware that the bottom line of the problem is not China’s recognition of Indonesian rights over Natuna seawater but the explicit recognition on Indonesian EEZ and Continental Shelf both de facto and de jure. Observing China’s aggressiveness in imposing its nine-dash lines into effect, it is no doubt that the only language it speaks and understands to resolve the SCS dispute is power.

Indonesia is not alone in facing head to head against China.  If Indonesia likes to maintain its right in Natuna EEZ, there is no choice but to speak on the same language as China does. Indonesia should prioritize to strengthen its fleet in the Natuna islands by increasing the number and capacity of coast guard ships as well as Navy warships. A strategic naval base should be built in the Natuna Islands not only to chase and intercept the illegal fishing boats but also to confront the danger from the north, which now becomes real.