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Indonesia must be consistent in rejecting China's territorial claim: Expert
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Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi speaks to journalists at an event at the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta. Retno said Indonesia did not recognize China’s claim to traditional fishing grounds in reference to a recent Indonesia-China fishing dispute.
(thejakartapost.com/-)
I
ndonesia must be consistent in being a persistent objector to China's claim over territories it says are included in its Nine-Dash Line, an expert has said.
"The protests voiced by the Foreign Ministry in every incident involving the capture of a Chinese boat have been based on Indonesia's stance in not recognizing the Nine-Dash Line as [China's] traditional fishing grounds," international law expert Hikmahanto Juwana said as quoted by Antara news agency.
He asserted that the detainment of Chinese boats in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) by government ships, including the Navy, was a clear action of law enforcement and also enforcement of sovereign rights.
"Considering the number of incidents, with the latest one involving the arrest of a Chinese boat that had entered Indonesia's EEZ by Indonesian warship Imam Bonjol, last Friday, these are not occurring by accident. For the fishermen, parts of the EEZ are considered their traditional fishing grounds," Hikmahanto said.
The Chinese government also supports the activities of its fishermen, he added.
Indonesian maritime laws are based on the internationally recognized UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Hikmahanto said, which does not recognize China's traditional fishing grounds claim.
China has used its traditional fishing grounds claim to defend three separate incidents in recent months where Chinese fishing boats were arrested on suspicion of fishing in Indonesia’s EEZ. (liz/bbn)
