Nations with competing territorial claims in the South China Sea — including China — should carry out joint “peace patrols” there to reduce the risk of conflict, Indonesian Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu said.
Senior US military officials have recently urged Southeast Asian nations to jointly patrol the waters as it seeks to reassure its allies it will support them against China’s claims to about four-fifths of the sea. However, they have not mentioned China as a potential participant.
The proposed patrols would send a message that no single country should “build up strength or threaten anyone” in the waters, Ryacudu said in an interview yesterday on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional meeting of defense ministers and military leaders in Singapore.
Parts of the waters are also claimed by Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, Philippines and Malaysia. Over the past 18 months, China has accelerated reclamation work on reefs, raising alarms regionally and in the US, which in turn has stepped up its aerial and sea patrols of the area.
Indonesia has long said it is a neutral party in the disputes, even as waters off its Natuna Islands (納土納) — an area thought to be rich in natural gas — appear to overlap slightly with China’s claims.
Asked whether he whether he thought China had designs on the Natuna Islands, Ryacudu said: “Not yet,” adding that China had no right to them.
“We have history there,” he said.
Joint patrols in the waters would be hard to implement, even assuming that nations agree to the idea.
The 10-nation ASEAN and China have been working toward a “code of conduct” for the waters for more than a decade without major progress.
Still, Malaysian Minister of Defense Hishammuddin Hussein said that joint patrols with China were “not an impossibility.”
“China has more to lose if the region is unstable,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Singapore forum.
Patrols by more than one nation have been very effective in other areas, like curbing piracy in the Strait of Malacca, he said.
In his speech earlier to the forum, Hishammuddin urged Southeast Asian nations to reach a code of conduct for the disputed waters soon.
“If we are not careful, it could certainly escalate into one of the deadliest conflicts of our time,” he said.
Ryacudu, a former Indonesian army chief of staff, also said Indonesia’s military should play a greater role in tackling Muslim extremists, particularly the threat posed by the Islamic State group.
Between 200 and 500 Indonesians are believed to have joined the group in the Middle East, giving them new skills they could use if they return.
Supporters at home might heed the calls from the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant for violence in its name.
Ryacudu said the Indonesian military’s extensive network of command posts right down to the village level should be the “eyes and ears” of the nation in tracking down suspects.
“If events are disturbing the people, then it is a police issue,” he said. “[However,] if they disturb the state, then the military should be involved.”
The remarks appear to indicate a growing assertiveness by the military under Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
The military had a large political and internal security role under former Indonesian president Suharto, but withdrew after his regime collapsed amid pro-democracy protests in 1998.
Indonesia’s police force has led the national campaign against extremism for the past 15 years, winning praise internationally for its efforts.
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