Indonesian President Vows to Defend Sovereignty in South China Sea

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has vowed to safeguard his country’s sovereignty in the South China Sea, after signing a cooperation agreement with China that appeared to recognize Beijing’s controversial claim over the strategic seaway.

Prabowo’s comments come in response to question from the press in Washington, where he is currently at the tail end of a four-day state visit.

“We respect all powers, but we will always safeguard our sovereignty,” Prabowo said, according to Reuters. “But I choose to always find possibilities of a partnership. Partnerships are better than conflicts.”

The comments came on the day the Indonesian leader signed a joint maritime development agreement with China. In a joint statement issued during Prabowo’s visit to Beijing on November 9, the two countries said that they had “reached important common understanding on joint development in areas of overlapping claims.”

In so doing, the statement appeared to acknowledge the Chinese government’s maximalist “nine-dash line,” under which it lays claim to the majority of the South China Sea. For years, Indonesia’s position on the issue has been clear and consistent. While China’s government holds that Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf around the Natuna Islands overlaps with the southern portion of the “nine-dash line,” Indonesia has rejected the Chinese claims. It does not acknowledge any overlapping jurisdiction with China.

In agreeing to a joint statement that acknowledged “overlapping claims,” numerous observers argued that Jakarta has contradicted this long-standing policy, with potentially deleterious impacts on its sovereignty around the Natuna Islands.

The ensuing confusions prompted the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to clarify on Monday that it does not recognize China’s claims over the South China Sea and that the agreement would have “no impact on Indonesia’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, or jurisdiction in the North Natuna Sea.”

“Indonesia reiterates its position that [China’s] claim has no basis in international law and is not in accordance with UNCLOS 1982,” it stated, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. According to Reuters, Prabowo did not directly refer to the joint statement in his comments to reporters yesterday, but said he had discussed the South China Sea with U.S. President Joe Biden when the two leaders met at the White House on Tuesday.

Writing about this controversy earlier this week, I referenced the common view that the agreement was a misstep by a green and untried administration – in particular, by its foreign minister Sugiono, a political appointee with little practical experience in foreign affairs or diplomacy. In a November 11 article, Asia Times quoted one source who said that Sugiono “was advised by foreign ministry officials about the problematic language but he failed to push his Chinese counterparts to budge on the wording,” in the article’s paraphrase. The source also “blamed pressure from influential businessmen who traveled with Prabowo and were keen to keep things amicable,” it reported.

Whatever its causes or motivations, the ultimate implications of the decision are unclear. Like the Foreign Ministry’s clarifying statement, Prabowo’s assurance that he will defend Indonesian sovereignty in the South China Sea – a statement that he has made many times before – is unlikely to convince those observers who have expressed alarm that Indonesia has made a crucial concession to China

Others say that the practical impact will be minimal. In comments to Asia Times, Gregory Poling, the director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, which monitors the situation in the South China Sea, said that the ministry’s clarification would likely render the relevant section of the joint statement a “dead letter.”