Indonesia Position Paper; Issues in the South and East China Sea

Country: Indonesia
Committee: Indonesian Government
Topic Area: Issues in the South and East China Sea
Delegates: Parker Feldman, Jordan Leitsan
Background:
The Disputes in the South and East China Sea involve differing claims for both island
and maritime issues among several different countries within the region. Namely the
Nation of Brunei, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan),
Malaysia, the Republic of the Philippines, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Jing
Huang, 3). A very high proportion of world trade has to pass through the South China
Sea, thus making the South China Sea a popular and important part of the global
economy, making it even more valuable should it be claimed by one singular nation.
There are many non-claimant nations who want the south china sea as international
waters, with countries such as the US leading freedom of navigation operations(Wiki,
1) ; programs that challenge territorial claims on the world's oceans and airspace. The
position of the United States is that all nations must obey the international law of the
sea, as codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The disputes include the banks, islands, and reefs of the South China Sea,
including the Spratly and Paracel islands, and also various boundary lines that have
already been set, including those in the Gulf of Tonkin. There is a further dispute in the

waters near the Indonesian Natuna Islands which by most definitions are not part of the
South China Sea. The interests of these nations coveting the South and East China Sea
involve the control over shipping/ import and export lanes through the sea, acquiring full
rights to fishing areas, and the exploration and potential exploitation of crude oil and
natural gas under the water of the South China Sea.
Possible Causes of the Issue:
Possible causes of the Issues in the South and East China Sea include, but are
not limited to the following list: A changing global scope and outlook on foreign relations,
a developing and growing global economy, the constant vying for power and control
(realist perspective aims), resource control over the crude oil and natural gas trapped
under the rock layers in the Sea, the growing needs for technological and economic
expansion, and deep seeded political and personal ties over territories and relations.
Indonesias Current Policies and Position:
Since early on in the dispute over the South and East China Sea, Indonesia has
made it abundantly clear of its position as a non-claimant, and neutralist, and often
made itself a broker between nations. However, this does not mean that Indonesia is
not involved at all. Parts of China's unilaterally claimed nine-dash line is intersecting
with Indonesia's exclusive economic zone near Natuna islands. Although China has
acknowledged Indonesia's sovereignty over Natuna islands, China argues that the
waters around Natuna islands are Chinese traditional fishing grounds(ABC) .
Indonesia quickly dismissed these claims, as they had no historical, legal, or physical
basis. Chinese fishing vessels, often escorted by Chinese coast guard ships, has been

reported repeatedly breached Indonesian waters near Natuna islands. Indonesia has
taken a stance to not tolerate this anymore. On 19 March 2016, Indonesian authorities
tried to capture a Chinese trawler accused for illegal fishing in Indonesian waters, and
arrest the Chinese crew. But they were prevented by a Chinese coast guard boat that
reportedly "rammed" the trawler and set it free. Indonesia still has the Chinese crew in
custody. This was only shortly following the new law that President Joko Widodo put
into place in 2015, stating that any fishing vessel caught in Indonesian claimed water
would be destroyed on sight. On May 21st 2015, around 41 fishing vessels from China,
Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines were blown up (Otto, Ben 1). Despite all of this,
Indonesia seeks to maintain being a non-claimant neutralist, and stay out of the
disputes as much as possible.
Indonesias Goals and Approaches:
To be short, Indonesia has only 2 goals; to maintain control over the Natuna
islands, and maintain control over the economic zone and waters immediately
surrounding it for the purpose of fishing and natural gas/crude oil harvesting. During the
debate, to maintain our position and stand our ground, Indonesia will cite that China has
no legal or historical basis to claim the waters surrounding the Natuna Islands, and
bring up that traditional fishing grounds was not recognized under the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Beckman, Robert, 107). This aside,
Indonesia plans to maintain sole ownership over the Natuna islands, and exclusive
fishing and exploration rights over the waters surrounding the Natuna islands, leading to
the Nine-Dash line.

Works Cited

Jing Huang; Andrew Billo (10 December 2014). Territorial Disputes in the South China
Sea: Navigating Rough Waters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_disputes_in_the_South_China_Sea#United_Stat
es
Beckman, Robert (2013). "The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Maritime
Disputes in the South China Sea". The American Journal of International Law. American
Society of International Law. 107
http://www.wsj.com/articles/indonesia-parades-air-force-arsenal-over-south-china-sea1475751941, Author: Ben Otto
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-22/no-overlapping-claims-with-china-inindonesian-waters-says-fm/7534498
R.C. Marshall, Andrew (25 August 2014). "Remote, gas-rich islands on Indonesia's
South China Sea frontline". Reuters.