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Indonesia's maritime plans may mean welcoming new neighbors
Indonesia has made several submissions to the relevant UN body to stake its claim on additions to its maritime space, which might bring new neighbors, too.
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Indonesian map (Courtesy of/I Made Andi Arsana)
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ndonesia’s maritime space is exceptionally large. Being an archipelagic state, the country’s maritime zone is a lot larger than its land territory. With its already vast seas, Indonesia aims to extend its maritime zones through several submissions to the United Nations. One submission was made on April 11, 2019 regarding an area north of Papua (Eauripik Rise) and another on Dec. 28, 2020 for an area southwest of Sumatra.
The above submissions are currently under consideration by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UN CLCS). While waiting for its recommendation of approval, Indonesia is preparing another submission on an area south of Java. Among these three submissions, the one for the area north of Papua might lead to issues with Indonesia’s “new” neighbors.
Like other countries, Indonesia is entitled to territorial seas extending 12 nautical miles (nmi), a contiguous zone of 24 nmi, exclusive economic zones (EEZs) extending 200 nmi and a continental shelf (seabed) extending 200 nmi beyond its baseline or coastline, with 1 nmi equaling 1,852 meters. This is in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which Indonesia and 167 other countries are parties.
Regarding the continental shelf in particular, UNCLOS does not state a specific figure for breadth. Article 76 (1) of the convention only mentions that a country’s continental shelf can reach “the outer edge of the continental margin”. However, it also makes clear that if the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend 200 nmi from the baseline or coastline, then that country is entitled to a continental shelf of at least 200 nmi.
Technical surveys and mapping must be carried out for this purpose, which involves a long and costly process, so countries usually decide that the breadth of their continental shelf is 200 nmi as per the UNCLOS limit.
UNCLOS also states that if a country is interested in confirming its continental shelf beyond 200 nmi from the baseline, it must delineate the outer limits and submit this to the UN CLCS. The deadline for submissions is 10 years after the convention enters into force for that particular country. In Indonesia’s case, the deadline for the first submission was in 2009.
Other than the three submissions Indonesia has made in recent years, it also made a submission in 2008 on more than 4,000 square kilometers of seabed to the west of Sumatra (Aceh). The CLCS recommended approving the 2008 submission in 2011, and the area is now officially part of Indonesia’s sovereign territory. Hence, Indonesia is allowed to exclusively explore and utilize the resources in that area.
