ISEAS Perspective: "Recent Chinese Moves in the Natunas Riles Indonesia" by Leo Suryadinata

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• For the first time in three and half years, 63 Chinese fishing boats, escorted by China’s coast guard vessels, encroached into the Indonesian Natuna EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) between 19 and 24 December 2019.

• To justify this action, China argued that it has sovereignty over the Nansha (Spratly) Islands and has sovereign rights over “relevant waters near the Nansha Islands”. This is a departure from the past when China merely used the argument of “traditional fishing grounds” to justify its presence in the Natuna waters.

• Jakarta has rejected both arguments and insisted that under UNCLOS (United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea), China does not have legal basis to claim either “traditional fishing grounds” nor parts of the Natuna waters. Jakarta even invoked for the first time the 2016 UN Arbitral Tribunal’s ruling to back its position.

• The tense standoff between Indonesian and Chinese naval vessels was defused only after the Chinese ships departed the disputed area following President Joko Widodo`s visit to the Natunas.

• The latest incursion signifies that China now officially claims jurisdiction over parts of the Natuna waters. It directly challenges Indonesia’s Natuna EEZ, and sets the stage for further incidents in the future.

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