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Jokowi asserts Indonesia’s sovereign rights in Natuna
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right) seen laughing while talking with officials of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry during his visit to Natuna regency in Riau Islands on Wednesday. (Presidential Palace Press Bureau/Laily Rachev)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has insisted that Indonesia has sovereign rights over natural resources in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Natuna Sea while allowing foreign vessels to pass peacefully.
“I am here to ensure the enforcement of our sovereign rights over maritime natural resources in our EEZ,” Jokowi said as quoted in a press release issued by the State Palace on Wednesday.
“Why do we have the Navy and the Bakamla [Maritime Security Agency] here? They are here to enforce the law.”
Speaking at the Lampa Strait Fishing Port in Natuna regency, Riau Islands province, Jokowi was commenting on the presence of Chinese fishing vessels in the North Natuna Sea – on the southern fringe of the South China Sea and whose name has yet to be internationally recognized.
The Chinese fishing vessels were escorted by China Coast Guard cutters which had chased off local fishermen from the area, claiming it was China’s “traditional fishing ground”. China bases its claim on its so-called “nine-dash-line”, which is not internationally accepted.
While foreign vessels can pass peacefully through a country’s EEZ, they must acquire proper documentation and licenses to conduct economic activities such as fishing and mining.
A country’s 200-nautical-mile EEZ does not constitute its territorial sea, which is only limited to 12 nautical miles.
