Expert Values The North Natuna Sea Issue Placed In A Strategic Context

Illustration of China's refusal in the Natuna Sea/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - Senior researcher at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Evan A. Laksmana, said that the issue in the North Natuna Sea (LNU) must be placed in a wider strategic context because this area intersects with the South China Sea (LCS).

In addition, according to him, tensions between the United States (US) and China have influenced the behavior of the bamboo curtain country in the South China Sea.

“In Indonesia, there is often a perception that China's behavior in the LNU or LCS is part of the country's efforts to occupy or invade Indonesia. This is a misperception for me, so we have to provide a wider context,” he said in a webinar, Jakarta, Wednesday, March 9.

Actually, he continued, China's main interest is still related to the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party as the ruling party in China.

Territorial expansion is considered only to be considered in the context of core interests, such as what China did to Hong Kong or Taiwan.

"The LNU problem is not at the same level as Hong Kong or Taiwan," said Evan.

According to him, what China is doing in the LNU and LCS cannot be said to be part of a strategy to invade or even seize all of Indonesia's natural resources. However, what China is doing in the LNU and LCS must be declared a mistake or illegal act.

China is also said to have always felt the dominance of the US military in their strategic environment, thus hampering the country's aspirations as a big country.

"Therefore, they (China) are very concerned about the possibility of US intervention. We have to see that China's behavior is not only capable of violating existing (marine) norms, but also other strategic considerations," he said.