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RI 'must designate sea lanes' to assert maritime sovereignty
Indonesia must finalize and officially designate its sea routes to avoid frequent incursions by foreign vessels, allowing it to take more advantage of sea lines of communication (SLOCs) running through the country, according to experts
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ndonesia must finalize and officially designate its sea routes to avoid frequent incursions by foreign vessels, allowing it to take more advantage of sea lines of communication (SLOCs) running through the country, according to experts.
'Indonesia needs to officially designate its three sea lanes, or plot new ones, to the International Maritime Organization [IMO], so that their routes are taken seriously by the international community. Technically, we are prone to incursions because our sea lanes are not yet clearly defined, making it harder for us to guard,' maritime boundary researcher and lecturer of Gadjah Mada University, I Made Andi Arsana, told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the Sea Lines of Communication conference in Dharmawangsa, South Jakarta, on Tuesday.
The expert said the main point in establishing SLOCs was to bolster the domestic and international connectivity of the country's under-utilized seas. He stressed that developing port infrastructure and upgrading ships were the main aspects of improving the SLOCs, especially under President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's maritime axis doctrine.
According to clause 12 of Article 53 in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on archipelagic sea lanes, archipelagic states that have not properly designated their sea lanes may see their waters become international passageways.
Indonesia has three designated sea routes going through its territory, all of which go from south to north. However, they have only been recognized as partial, not final, routes by the IMO. The archipelago has yet to establish an official east-west sea lane, which Andi explained was 'reasonable' due to the security concerns of the Indonesian Navy.
Adding to that, Institute for Marine Studies chairman and former Navy chief of staff Adm. (ret.) Bernard Kent Sondakh explained that Indonesia's clearly defined sea lanes would help protect its sovereignty from the international interests of states who wanted to pursue the navigational freedom of Asia's maritime commons.
'Safeguarding SLOCs is in the interests of all countries in the region. There have already been successful precedents in this respect, but limited cooperation. Further cooperative approaches in the protection of sea lines are needed,' he said.
Meanwhile, the conference also touched on issues including how the ASEAN region claims and counter claims sea territories.
Panel speaker Sabam Siagian, former ambassador to Australia and current senior editor of The Jakarta Post, said there should be a sense of urgency to solve such claims, with Indonesia ideal to play the role of facilitator in regional disputes.
'President Jokowi's maritime axis doctrine does not [directly] affect the SLOCs running through Indonesian waters, but in due time, it will enhance their position,' he said. (ebf)(+++)
