Foreign Ships May Pass Through The Natuna Sea From The Origin Of INDONESIAN Sovereignty

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not received any reports of violations related to the activities of China's coast guard ship which has sailed in the Natuna Sea, Riau Islands since December 30, 2022.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah, admitted that he had not heard of any violations committed by the ship.

However, he emphasized that referring to international sea law, the right to pass foreign ships in the sea is free, including the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is actually allowed as long as it does not interfere with Indonesia's sovereign rights.

"As long as they don't carry out activities that interfere with our sovereign rights, it is still allowed within the framework of international law regulations because it is not only Chinese ships that pass, but also other ships," said Teuku Faizasyah, Thursday, January 19, as reported by Antara.

However, if there are cases of violations, such as fishing in the EEZ region, then Indonesia will submit a diplomatic note to the relevant countries.

"But so far I haven't heard of any violations," he said.

Ship tracking data shows that China's CCG 5901 coast guard ship has sailed in the Natuna Sea, particularly near the Tuna Block gas field and the Chim Sao Vietnam oil and gas field since December 30, 2022, according to the Indonesian Ocean Justice Initiative told Reuters on January 14, 2023.

Indonesia has even deployed warships to the North Natuna Sea to monitor China's coast guard ship, which is said to be sailing in the region.

The Chief of Naval Staff (KSAL) Admiral TNI Muhammad Ali stated that a warship, maritime patrol aircraft, and drone had been deployed to monitor China's coast guard ship.

The Chinese ship has so far not carried out suspicious activity. But we still need to monitor because they have been sailing on the EEZ for quite a while," Ali told Reuters.