Last weekend Prabowo Subianto visited Beijing where both countries signed a sea-development deal‚ but its wording made some people nervous
The joint-statement mentioned “overlapping claims“ which doesnt match Indonesiaʼs long-time position. The countryʼs foreign office quickly pointed out that it still dont recognize Chinaʼs rights in these waters (which are based on old maps from way-back when)
China uses its nine-dash line to claim most of South China Sea - this line goes down to Indonesian Natuna islands about 1000km from Hainan; experts say this affects several countries fishing and oil rights. The line was ruled invalid by international court about 8 years ago but China keeps ignoring that decision
Indonesian ministry tried to calm everyone down saying: the deal is just about fish and ocean protection. They hope it will make both countries friends but some smart-people think its risky
- The agreement might look like Indonesia accepts Chinese claims
- It could hurt Indonesiaʼs rights to use its own waters
- The deal terms might need another look
Local expert Aristyo Rizka Darmawan thinks this whole thing is weird - “if we look at official papers it means we now say theres overlapping claims“ he said‚ while Klaus Heinrich Raditio (who knows lots about Chinese politics) thinks the papers wording is not-right and might hurt Indonesiaʼs interests
Chinaʼs foreign office person Lin Jian says both sides will work on how to do things together in these waters‚ adding that China has history-based rights there - but neighbors say Chinese boats often cause problems when they patrol these areas (which are super-far from Chinaʼs shore)