Indonesia says Chinese vessel driven away again
JAKARTA—A Chinese coast guard vessel was driven out of Indonesia’s waters for a second time this week after it initially disrupted a survey by state energy firm Pertamina in the South China Sea, Indonesia’s maritime security agency said on Thursday.
While Chinese coast guard vessels have been spotted numerous times in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the most recent incidents came just days after Prabowo Subianto took over Indonesia’s presidency.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea via a “nine-dash line” on its maps that cuts into the 200 nautical mile EEZs of Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Baseless claim
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2016 said China’s claim has no basis under international law, a ruling Beijing does not recognize.
The incidents took place off Indonesia’s Natuna islands, roughly 1,500 kilometers from China’s Hainan island. The exact locations were not immediately clear.
The Chinese vessel on Monday insisted the area was China’s jurisdiction, Indonesia’s maritime security agency, known as Bakamla, said in a statement.
On Thursday, it said the Chinese vessel returned but was intercepted and again driven out. It did not provide details on what the ship was doing.
Lin Jian, a spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry, said on Thursday its coast guard carries out “routine cruises in waters under China’s jurisdiction.”
