Bakamla Make Sure There Are No Chinese Coast Guard Ships In North Natuna

Bakamla Archives when expelling CCG in the North Natuna Sea (ANTARA/HO-Bakamla RI)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) has confirmed that there are no Chinese coast guard ships sailing in the waters of Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Natuna Sea.

"Currently, there is no activity of the Chinese coast guard ship," he said

The head of Bakamla, Vice Admiral TNI, Irvansyah, was reported by ANTARA, Monday, November 18.

He emphasized that Bakamla ships took turns patrolling the North Natuna Sea every day.

According to Irvansyah, every day there is one Bakamla patrol boat deployed in the North Natuna Sea.

Bakamla is currently reinforced by a total of 10 patrol boats spread across three operating areas, namely in the West Maritime Zone which oversees the waters around Java Island, Sumatra Island, and Kalimantan Island, then the Central Maritime Zone which oversees the waters around Sulawesi Island and the Small Sunda Islands, and finally the East Maritime Zone which oversees the waters around the Maluku Islands and Papua.

In the North Natuna Sea, the Chinese coast guard ship CCG 5402 last month entered Indonesian jurisdictional waters and disrupted the activity of the PT Pertamina seismic survey using the MV Geo Coral ship. Bakamla patrol boats also three times expelled the Chinese coast guard ship, namely on October 21, October 24, and October 25.

Bakamla emphasized that he would continue to closely monitor activities in the North Natuna Sea to ensure that seismic surveys in the waters run without interruption.

"This operation also reflects Bakamla RI's commitment to maintaining maritime order and security in Indonesia's strategic waters," he said.

The North Natuna Sea is Indonesian jurisdictional waters in the South China Sea, which is included in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). However, China unilaterally claims the waters are included in its jurisdiction based on historical 10-dash-line reasons. The Chinese 10-dash-line claim covers all waters of the South China Sea.

However, China's unilateral claim contradicts the 1982 United Nations Convention on Maritime Law (UNCLOS). Indonesia and China are included in the list of countries that ratify UNCLOS.

Presiden Prabowo Subianto dan Presiden China Xi Jinping pada 9 November 2024 sepakat untuk bekerja sama mengelola perairan yang diklaim secara overlapping claim), dan dua negara juga sepakat membentuk Inter-Governmental Joint Steering Committee mengikuti aturan hukum dan regulasi yang berlaku di masing-masing negara.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the joint statement between the two presidents was not Indonesia's recognition of China's unilateral claims, because Indonesia remained subject to UNCLOS and international law.