Indonesia flexes its muscles in the sea

Indonesia plans to develop its strength in South China Sea despite the presence of China.

JAKARTA: Indonesia plans to develop lucrative fishing grounds in the South China Sea as part of efforts to assert its sovereign authority over waters in which it has clashed with China.

The Natuna Islands on the edge of the South China Sea, rich in gas and fish stocks, would be developed into a fishing hub, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said on Friday, according to the Jakarta Post.

The government plans to build cold-storage facilities and use satellites and drones to help Indonesian fishing vessels operating in the surrounding waters, with the hub to be operational by the end of the year.

While Indonesia is not a claimant in the broader dispute over the South China Sea, it does insist on its sovereign rights to waters around the Natuna Islands.

The area has in the past seen clashes between Indonesian and Chinese vessels, while a move by Indonesia to name the waters the North Natuna Sea sparked a diplomatic row with Beijing.

“We would also be providing refuelling tankers for our fishing boats ... so no one can claim (the area is their) traditional fishing zone,” Pandjaitan said in a discussion in Jakarta on Friday, the Jakarta Post reported.

Indonesia has been waging an aggressive campaign to curb illegal fishing in its territorial waters and has seized hundreds of foreign vessels in recent years, even blowing up some in public displays.