Indonesian President Joko Widodo said one of China’s main claims to the majority of the South China Sea has no legal basis in international law, but that Jakarta wants to remain an “honest broker” in one of Asia’s most sensitive territorial dispute.
Widodo’s comments in an interview with a major Japanese newspaper come as he embarks on a visit to Japan and China and is the first time he has taken a position on the issue since coming to power in October last year.
China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas. Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam all lay claim to parts of the sea, through which about US$5 trillion of ship-borne trade passes every year.
The territorial dispute is seen as one of Asia’s hot spots that could spiral out of control and result in conflict as nations aggressively stake their claims.
“We need peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. It is important to have political and security stability to build up our economic growth,” Widodo was quoted as saying in an interview with the Yomiuri newspaper published yesterday. “So we support the Code of Conduct [of the South China Sea] and also dialogue between China and Japan, China and ASEAN.”
However, in a Japanese version of the interview published on Sunday, Joko rejected one of Beijing’s main claims to the South China Sea.
“The ‘nine-dash line’ that China asserts has no basis in any international law,” Widodo said.
Maritime lawyers said Beijing routinely outlines the scope of its claims with reference to the so-called nine-dash line that takes in about 90 percent of the 3.5 million square kilometer South China Sea on Chinese maps.
The president was not speaking on China’s overall claim on the South China Sea, but only its nine-dash dotted line that stretches deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia, Widodo’s foreign policy adviser Rizal Sukma said yesterday.
“In 2009, Indonesia sent its official stance on the issue to the UN commission on the delimitation of the continental shelf, stating that the nine-dotted line has no basis in international law,” Sukma said. “So, nothing changes.”
China recently expressed its anger at the Vietnamese head of ASEAN when he rejected Chinese claims based on the nine-dash line.
This vague boundary was first officially published on a map by China’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government in 1947 and has been included in subsequent maps issued under Chinese Communist Party rule.
Indonesia, the largest nation in Southeast Asia, has been a self-appointed broker in the myriad territorial disputes between its neighbors and China over the South China Sea.
“Indonesia’s willingness as an honest broker remains the same,” Sukma said.
In his first trip to Japan as president, Widodo was to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later yesterday and defense ministers were expected to sign a defense pact.
The agreement is the latest move by Tokyo to forge closer security ties with Southeast Asian nations in attempts to build a counter-balance to China.
GEOPOLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The CGA’s nonmilitary role makes it a tool to avert diplomatic issues, an official said, while confirming the donation of a ship to Manila Coast Guard Administration (CGA) ships are scheduled to sail to the Philippines bearing the words “Taiwan Coast Guard” in a high-profile visit in October next year, the first such visit by a Taiwanese maritime law enforcement vessel to the Southeast Asian nation, the agency said yesterday. The CGA also confirmed that it had donated one of its decommissioned patrol vessels to the Philippines in a rare transfer of a retired ship to a nondiplomatic ally. The Republic of China (ROC) Navy last made such a visit in 1974, shortly before the Philippines switched diplomatic recognition to the People’s Republic of China in
SOFT TENNIS: Yu Kai-wen and Huang Shih-yuan narrowly defeated their Japanese rivals to capture Taiwan’s first gold at the Asian Games in Nagoya Yu Kai-wen (余凱文) and Huang Shih-yuan (黃詩媛) won Taiwan’s first gold of this year’s Asian Games, defeating a Japanese duo in a nail-biter in the soft tennis mixed doubles final in Nagoya, Japan, while Johnny Sun (孫家閎) won silver in wushu and Shih Cheng-chung (石政中) won bronze in men’s kumite. Yu and Huang narrowly defeated Japan’s Toshiki Uematsu and Rena Temma 5-4 (2-4, 5-3, 4-2, 1-4, 1-4, 4-0, 1-4, 4-1, 7-5) to give Taiwan its first gold in soft tennis mixed doubles at an Asian Games since 2018. Sun secured Taiwan’s first wushu medal at this year’s game, with a combined score
CALL FOR CHANGE: They urged the UN to facilitate Taiwan’s involvement in the body, recognize its peace efforts and to work with members in preventing military conflict Representatives to the UN from five of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies sent a joint letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday, calling for the country’s inclusion in the body. Allies in the letter sent ahead of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly General Debate made three demands in support of Taiwan: inclusion, recognition and camaraderie. They implored the UN to seek an appropriate way to facilitate Taiwan’s meaningful involvement in the world governing body, saying that UN Resolution 2758, which accepted the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a member of the UN, does not exclude Taiwan. Beijing claims that the
AT-RISK GROUPS: Of the accumulated 1,586 severe cases and 304 related deaths in this flu season, 65.8% were older people and 83.2% had chronic diseases, an official said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that 165 severe flu cases and 30 flu-related deaths were reported last week, the highest weekly numbers in this flu season, and that cases might continue to increase, urging people to take precautions. Medical visits for flu-like illnesses increased by 1.4 percent to 141,374 last week, with 11.8 percent being emergency visits, showing that the seasonal flu is still in its epidemic period, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to Monday, 165 severe flu cases and 30 flu-related deaths were confirmed, the highest weekly numbers
RSS