Foreign Minister: There Is No Shift In The Sovereignty Of The Republic Of Indonesia In The South China Sea

JAKARTA - Minister of Foreign Affairs (Menlu) Sugiono emphasized that there was no shift in Indonesia's position and sovereignty in the South China Sea which became the waters of the dispute.

Foreign Minister Sugiono's statement was in response to the Indonesia-China Joint Statement agreed upon by President Prabowo Subianto and Chinese President Xi Jinping to give recognition of unilateral claims from China in the South China Sea (LCS).

"First of all, we do not have any standardization regarding sovereignty in the South China Sea," said the Foreign Minister when giving a press statement at the Jakarta President's office as reported by ANTARA, Monday, December 2.

The Foreign Minister explained in a joint statement agreed upon during President Prabowo Subianto's visit to Beijing in mid-November, RI intends to establish cooperation and collaboration with China in areas where each has claims to the LCS for economic benefit.

In addition, the joint statement lists a collaboration on the formation of a committee to discuss details of geographic locations that claim the LCS.

"That this cooperation will be carried out and a joint committee will be formed to discuss the details including its geographic location, where it is located, and each party also adheres to the relevant laws that apply to each other. So there is no shifting of standards regarding sovereignty issues," said the Foreign Minister.

President Prabowo Subianto, during his visit to China on November 9, agreed on a joint statement with Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding strengthening strategic and comprehensive cooperation in a number of fields.

In the statement containing the 14 points, Indonesia and China agreed to build a new pattern of cooperation and development in all lines, including interaction between communities, maritime development cooperation, and defense and security cooperation.

This collaboration aims to advance various aspects of economic cooperation, especially in the field of fisheries and fisheries conservation in the region, while still respecting the principles of mutual respect and equality.

Cooperation is expected to create peace in the South China Sea and can be "a model of efforts to maintain peace and friendship in the region".

Therefore, the Joint Statement will not affect and invalidate all international obligations and other contracts made by Indonesia regarding the area.