Introduction
The conflict in the South China Sea is one of the problems that has been going on for a long time. Many countries in the Southeast Asian region were involved in the conflict. The conflict tensions escalated when China began to carry out military movements to reinforce the concept of the Nine Dash Line which states China's territorial waters from the Spratly/Paracel Islands to the Natuna Islands, which are currently Indonesian exclusive economic zone.
In recent years, no international maritime dispute has garnered more attention than the contest over the islands, reefs, and waters of the South China Sea. The dispute involves the overlapping claims of six governments to territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, encompasses the main sea lines of communication that connect Southeast Asia with Northeast Asia, covers large fishing grounds and may contain vast reserves of oil and natural gas. In the South China Sea dispute, no state attracts more attention than China because of its expansive claim, past uses of force over islands in these waters and its growing naval capabilities.
South China Sea Conflict and Its Relevance to Indonesia
The South China Sea is a strategic body of water bordering Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and China. As one of the busiest trade routes in the world and home to a wealth of marine and mineral resources, the South China Sea holds great economic and geostrategic importance.
The territorial disputes in the South China Sea place Indonesia's interests at stake, namely the security of the resource-rich Natuna Islands, the sanctity of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the security of sea lines of communication, and nonalignment vis--vis the major powers. The security of the Natuna Islands is Indonesia's immediate concern in the South China Sea. China has never claimed the islands, yet neither has it clarified to Indonesian policymakers the meaning of the U-shaped line. Indonesia rejects the U-shaped line and claims to have neither territorial nor boundary disputes with China. However, Indonesia is increasingly concerned with the potential spillover effects of conflict between China and other claimants because of Beijing's assertive enforcement of the U-shaped line.
The Natuna Islands are scattered across over 100,000 square miles of ocean---more than ten times the size of their total land area---and only 27 out of the 154 islands are inhabited, with a total population of around 76,000 people. Despite the lack of infrastructure, the Natuna Islands are one of Indonesia's richest regencies in offshore natural resources. Fisheries are estimated to yield a potential of 500,000 tons annually, but in reality, the locals manage to haul in only a third of it through traditional methods. Chinese fishermen continually venture south into the fishing grounds around the islands, escorted by Chinese government fishery patrol vessels.
Several incidents have occurred between these vessels and Indonesian maritime authorities while the latter were trying to apprehend illegal Chinese fishermen, including one threatening encounter in which a Chinese government vessel trained its guns on an Indonesian patrol boat. Beneath the seabed also lie vast energy resources. Located within the purported overlap of the U-shaped line, the East Natuna block (block D-Alpha) is estimated to contain one of the world's largest gas reserves at around 46 trillion cubic feet. Indonesia's oil and gas company, Pertamina, in partnerships with U.S.-based ExxonMobil, France's Total SA. In the South China Sea, Indonesia is not involved in territorial disputes, however, tensions in the region have also spilled over into Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Natuna Sea, the southernmost portion of the South China Sea.
Indonesia's foreign policy towards the South China Sea Dispute
In dealing with the South China Sea dispute, Indonesia has made various efforts to find a solution to the dispute for ASEAN member countries as well as China.
