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Indonesia submits new claims for continental shelf extension to UN
The world's largest archipelagic nation is attempting to expand its continental shelf borders off the southwestern coast of Sumatra.
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Indonesian waters according to the map accompanying Law No. 4 of 1960. (NUS Press/File)
T
he government has officially submitted to the United Nations its claim on an extension of the continental shelf southwest of the island of Sumatra, its second such foray in the Indian Ocean, which is of growing importance.
Indonesia finds itself in the crux of an emerging Indo-Pacific order, the region straddling the Indian and Pacific oceans, which has become a major global engine of growth and the site of major maritime trade routes.
In an era of competing maritime interests, the country has been setting aside resources to consolidate its territorial integrity, in accordance with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s vision of the Global Maritime Fulcrum.
Efforts to transform the world’s largest archipelagic nation into a credible maritime power include affirming sovereign rights and maritime borders in accordance with international law.
Read also: Indonesia joins neighbors in protesting Beijing’s claims in South China Sea
Indonesian Ambassador to the UN in New York, the United States, Dian Triansyah Djani, submitted the documents on Monday to the UN’s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), outlining Indonesia’s claim to an area located beyond 200 nautical miles from Sumatra’s coastline.
The area in question covers 211,397 square kilometers in the southwest of Sumatra near the Investigator Fracture Zone and Wharton Fossil Region, some of the distinct topographic features of that underwater region.
