Indonesia has lobbied Southeast Asian countries to carry out maritime patrols in the disputed South China Sea, claimed in most part by China, to improve security, Indonesian Minister of Defence Ryamizard Ryacudu said yesterday.
Indonesia denies being a claimant state in the South China Sea dispute, but has clashed with China over fishing rights around the Natuna Islands and expanded its military presence there, and also renamed the northern reaches of its exclusive economic zone, asserting its own maritime claim.
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and Australian Minister for Defence Marise Payne held talks with their Indonesian counterparts Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and Ryacudu in Sydney, ahead of an ASEAN summit.
Photo: AP
Australia is hosting the meeting, despite not being a member of the 10-nation bloc, as it seeks to tighten political and trade ties in the region amid China’s rising influence.
“For the South China Sea, I went around to friends — ASEAN defense ministers — so that each country that faces the South China Sea patrols up to 200 nautical miles, about 230km,” Ryacudu told reporters at a joint news conference.
Indonesia is focusing on three areas, notably the Sulu Sea, the Malacca Strait and the seas around the coast of Thailand, Ryacudu said, referring to existing cooperation with Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.
“If we look at the [borders] from Vietnam down to Indonesia and to the Philippines, we can see that we have secured almost half of the South China Sea [in areas that] we are already patrolling,” Ryacudu said.
China claims most of the South China Sea — an important trade route and an area that is believed to contain large quantities of oil and natural gas — and has been building artificial islands on reefs, some with ports and air strips, developments that have irked ASEAN members.
China has also been rapidly increasing military deployment in the South China Sea and its air force said last month that Chinese Su-35 fighter jets took part in a combat patrol over the disputed waterway.
Taiwan has claims in the sea. Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines — all of which are members of ASEAN — also have claims.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) last week said China’s resolve to protect peace and stability in the South China Sea was unshakeable, and that outside forces were attempting to muddy the waters.
China has been angered in the past by freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea by the US, which it sees as provocative.
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