Questioning Prabowo's Attitude In Choosing To Relax In Facing Chinese Interference

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (Wardhany Tsa Tsia / VOI)

JAKARTA - Prabowo Subianto's assertiveness during the campaign period as a presidential candidate (Candidate) for the 2019 General Election is awaited at this time, when he served as Minister of Defense (Menhan) in Jokowi's work cabinet volume II. Moreover, in the case of China's disturbance in the Natuna Sea, Riau Islands.

During the campaign period, Prabowo was considered firm. In fact, he even hit the podium during a speech at Kridosono Stadium, Yogyakarta, Monday, April 4, 2019. One of the things that provoked his action was the issue of foreign stooges.

Several parties have questioned Prabowo's attitude to relax in responding to China's interference in Natuna. That attitude is considered soft. Because, this is inversely proportional to his attitude during the campaign.

Deputy Chairman of the Gerindra Party, Ferry Juliantono, said that Prabowo's stance was part of the diplomatic efforts that were being carried out. Because, the first stage is to overcome it with diplomacy.

"It is clear that there is not always war. When there is a dispute like Natuna there is a diplomatic route," he said, when contacted, in Jakarta, Tuesday, January 7.

According to Ferry, the next step that must be supported is to strengthen the navy to protect Indonesian territory, especially in the Natuna Sea waters.

"In my opinion, this needs to be supported by efforts to strengthen the naval fleet in order to protect Indonesia's territory," he said.

The Government Must Take Decisive Action to Disturb the Territorial Sovereignty of the State

Deputy Chairman of BKSAP DPR RI, Mardani Ali Sera asked the government to act firmly against the territorial sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia. He considers the Indonesia-China conflict in the Natuna region to be serious.

Mardani said the Natuna Ocean was Indonesia's sovereign territory in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention for the Law of Sea (UNCLOS).

"The Natuna Ocean is part of the Republic of Indonesia, and will never be able to be annexed by China. The Indonesian government does not need to be afraid of this kind of disturbance," said Madani.

In addition, this PKS politician asked the government not only to use diplomatic means if China still insisted on rejecting protest kites from Indonesia.

"All means must be used to defend national territorial sovereignty, we can use the total football method if diplomacy does not work either," he said.

According to him, the Indonesian government, in this case the minister of defense (Menhan), must strengthen security in various sea areas that have the potential for conflict. This includes the Natuna region, so that threats like this do not occur from other countries.

"The goal is to strengthen military security, the government can first use Deterrence; then use Defense; then use Compellence; Finally, it can use alliances and balance of power," he said.

As is well known, China's claims to these waters also overlap with a number of countries in Southeast Asia such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. In fact, the islands which China calls Nansha also have another name, namely the Spratly Islands.

The dispute trial held in The Hague, Netherlands, in July 2016 has decided that China has no legal basis for these claims. The South China Sea is part of the Pacific Ocean which stretches from the Karimata Strait and the Malacca Strait, to the Taiwan Strait.

With an area of 3.5 million square kilometers, these waters are the main route for one-third of the world's shipping. In addition, these waters also have fishery potential, as well as large reserves of oil and gas.