DEBATE

ZIELZA RAMBU TIRANI

A.

1. WHAT HAS INDONESIA DONE IN THE NORTH NATUNA SEA?

Around the Natuna Islands, Indonesia has a territorial sea, a contiguous zone, and an EEZ
in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
According to the convention, Indonesia only has sovereignty over the waters of the
territorial sea and the inland sea that exists between the islands.

Under UNCLOS, the territorial sea extends 12 nautical miles from the coastline, while the
additional (contiguous) zone extends a further 12 nautical miles. The EEZ, meanwhile,
extends a further 176 nautical miles from the edge of the contiguous zone – or 200
nautical miles from the coastline.

These three sea regimes grant Indonesia different rights. In the territorial sea, Indonesia
enjoys the same sovereignty as it does on the islands, with a few exceptions. No foreign
ships are allowed to enter this area without prior notification, and any that do may be
chased and stopped by the authorities. In the territorial sea, Indonesia has the right to
enforce its national laws.

In the EEZ, Indonesia enjoys so-called “sovereign rights,” which grant it the exclusive
right to utilize the natural resources that lie within it. No other countries have this right,
but foreign ships are free to sail through EEZs without utilizing natural resources. If
foreign ships want to take advantage of natural resources and carry out survey activities,
they must get permission from Indonesia.

As such, Indonesia’s ownership of the Natuna Sea is firmly supported by UNCLOS,

which recognizes Indonesia as an archipelagic state.

2. WHAT EXACTLY HAPPEN IN THE NORTH NATUNA SEA?

The North Natuna Sea often becomes an arena of ambivalence between Indonesian
maritim security authorities and vessels from China due to illegal fishing and its patrol
activities in this region. It happens because there is an intersection between the waters of
North Natuna and the nine-dash line on the map issued by China’s government.
Therefore, this is the basis for Beijing to carry out its activities in the North Natuna
waters. For example, one of the famous feuds was in 2016 when the China Coast Guard
forced the Kapal Perikanan (KP) Hiu 11 to release a fishing vessel from China that had
previously been caught in the waters of the North Natuna Sea for illegal fishing
(Supriyanto et al., 2016). Meanwhile, from the end of 2019 until this year, Chinese
 vessels still appear several times in Indonesian waters. However, a recent report says that
a Chinese survey vessel had left the Natuna waters because there were indications that
Beijing did not want this issue to become a topic of discussion at the ASEAN Summit,
which was held last month (Dang, 2021). Despite the vessels will likely return to
Indonesian waters and potentially trigger friction again

3. WHICH COUNTRY CLAIMS THE NORTH NATUNA SEA?

By the end of December 2021, the stand-off between Indonesia and China over their
respective claims to the waters around the Natuna region became more strident. This is an
area of contested claims from the Chinese side that violates the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS); Beijing claims roughly 80% of the
maritime spaces in the South China Sea. For Jakarta, the regions extending north of the
Natuna island fall under its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which is rightfully
recognised by the UNCLOS as Indonesian waters, where the country can carry out
exploration of resources. Over the past few months, tensions between Indonesia and
China in the territorial waters of this region were clear, as Jakarta has been liaising with
international companies to explore its EEZ for resources. Indonesia’s responses have been
complex as it has tried to balance its sovereign rights and its economic relations with its
bigger neighbour.

B.

1. RELEASE OF NORTH KOREAN MISSILES TO JAPAN

North Korea will issue a stamp commemorating the recent test launch of a ballistic missile
that flew over Japan, calling the demonstration a "warning" to Pyongyang's enemies.

The stamp design, recently unveiled on state-run Korea Stamp Corp.'s webpage, depicts
leader Kim Jong Un directing a military drill, along with photos of missiles being fired.

The title on the stamp sheet declares the test showed the "actual war capacities of the nuclear
combat forces of the State."

The intermediate-range ballistic missile launched on Oct. 4 went over Japan to land in the
Pacific Ocean 4,500 kilometers away, according to an explanation accompanying the stamp.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency published Wednesday a commentary
denouncing Japan for joining military exercises with the U.S. and South Korea in the Sea of
Japan in September.
2. WHY DID NORTH KOREA LAUNCH MISSILES OVER JAPAN?

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile over Japan, in what appears to be a deliberate
escalation to get the attention of Tokyo and Washington. The missile travelled 4,500km
(2,800 miles) before falling into the Pacific Ocean - far enough to hit the US island of Guam
if it took another trajectory.

3. WHAT ARE THE REGIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF INDONESIA’S

CAPITAL RELOCATION?

While the decision to relocate the capital is based on domestic considerations, it carries
regional security implications, and will generate economic and environmental harm.
Additionally, it requires considerable resources, constraining Indonesia’s capability to deal
with regional tensions and possible security threats. With increasing tensions in the Indo-
Pacific region, the government must address these implications to mitigate any future security
risk associated with the relocation.