Indonesia Says It Has No Overlapping South China Sea Claims with China, Despite Deal

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China November 9, 2024. (Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China November 9, 2024. (Reuters)
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Indonesia Says It Has No Overlapping South China Sea Claims with China, Despite Deal

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China November 9, 2024. (Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China November 9, 2024. (Reuters)

Indonesia said on Monday it does not recognize China's claims over the South China Sea, despite signing a maritime development deal with Beijing, as some analysts warned the pact risked compromising its sovereign rights.

Beijing has long clashed with Southeast Asian neighbors over the South China Sea, which it claims almost in its entirety, based on a "nine-dash line" on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of several countries.

Joint agreements with China in the strategic waterway have been sensitive for years, with some nations wary of deals they fear could be interpreted as legitimizing Beijing's vast claims.

In 2016, an arbitral tribunal said the Chinese claim, based on its old maps, has no basis in international law, a decision China refuses to recognize.

A joint statement issued at the weekend during Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's visit to Beijing mentioned the two countries had "reached important common understanding on joint development in areas of overlapping claims".

NO LEGAL BASIS

Indonesia's foreign ministry has repeatedly said the country is a non-claimant state in the South China Sea and has no overlapping jurisdiction with China.

On Monday, the ministry said its position was unchanged and the agreement would have no impact on its sovereign rights.

"Indonesia reiterates its position that those (Chinese) claims have no international legal basis," it said.

"The partnership does not impact sovereignty, sovereign rights or Indonesia's jurisdiction in the North Natuna Sea."

China's foreign ministry said the clause "clarifies the political consensus and direction of cooperation between the two sides on joint development in the overlapping maritime areas claimed by the two countries."

A ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, said Indonesia and China would further explore topics such as the content and mode of co-operation, adding there was a historical basis for China's South China Sea claims and that consensus would benefit both.

China's U-shaped line, based on its old maps, begins off central Vietnam and runs into waters off Indonesia's Natuna islands, more than 1,000 km (620 miles) south of the island of Hainan.

It crosses into the EEZs of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, and is patrolled by an armada of the Chinese coast guard, which neighbors accuse of aggression and seeking to disrupt energy and fisheries activity.

China typically says its vessels are preventing incursions into its territory.

Indonesia's foreign ministry said the economic agreement on maritime issues with China covered fisheries and fish conservation, and hoped it would be a model to safeguard peace and friendship.

Some Indonesian analysts, however, said signing such an agreement could have repercussions and be interpreted as a change in stance.

"If we refer to the official joint statement, that means we recognize overlapping claims," said maritime analyst Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, adding it could compromise Indonesia's sovereign rights to exploit resources in its EEZ.

Indonesia might have signed the agreement with the intention of boosting economic ties, he added.

Klaus Heinrich Raditio, a lecturer in Chinese politics, said Indonesia never had overlapping claims to begin with and the clause's inclusion in the statement was "inappropriate".

"This joint statement puts our national interests at risk," he said, adding that it could still be renegotiated.



Texas Flood Toll Rises to 24 as Rescuers Search for Missing Children

Members of Task Force 1 deploy boats along the Guadalupe River in the wake of a destructive flooding event in Kerrville on Friday July 4, 2025. (Christopher Lee/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
Members of Task Force 1 deploy boats along the Guadalupe River in the wake of a destructive flooding event in Kerrville on Friday July 4, 2025. (Christopher Lee/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
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Texas Flood Toll Rises to 24 as Rescuers Search for Missing Children

Members of Task Force 1 deploy boats along the Guadalupe River in the wake of a destructive flooding event in Kerrville on Friday July 4, 2025. (Christopher Lee/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
Members of Task Force 1 deploy boats along the Guadalupe River in the wake of a destructive flooding event in Kerrville on Friday July 4, 2025. (Christopher Lee/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

Rescuers were desperately searching for at least 20 girls missing from a riverside summer camp, officials said Friday, after torrential rains caused a "catastrophic" flash flood that killed at least 24 people as it swept through south-central Texas.

"At this point we're at about 24 fatalities," Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told an evening press conference as rescue teams scrambled to locate stranded residents in the region northwest of San Antonio, reported AFP.

Some of the dead were children, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said at a previous news conference.

The county sheriff said there were "kids that are still missing", adding that between 23 and 25 people were unaccounted for.

Lieutenant Governor Patrick previously said "about 23" girls attending a summer camp in the flooded Kerr County were missing.

They were part of a group of around 750 children at Camp Mystic, a girls summer camp along the banks of the Guadalupe River which rose 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes with heavy rainfall overnight.

"That does not mean they've been lost, they could be in a tree, they could be out of communication," he said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was signing a "disaster declaration" to boost resources in counties in the region.

"It's terrible, the floods," US President Donald Trump told reporters Friday night. "It's shocking."

Asked if Texas would receive federal aid, he said: "Oh yeah, sure, we'll take care of it. We're working with the governor."

- Rescue efforts -

A massive rescue operation was underway in the region, with around 500 personnel and 14 helicopters helping in the search for survivors.

Texas military official Major General Thomas Suelzer told reporters at least 237 people had been rescued or evacuated by emergency personnel, with 167 rescues performed using helicopters.

Freeman Martin, director of the state's public safety department, told the evening conference: "We had a hard time getting in this morning with the weather the way it was."

"As the day went on, it picked up and we were able to rescue more and recover more, that will continue tomorrow," Martin said, calling the disaster a "mass casualty event."

US media reported that trucks had arrived at Camp Mystic to transport stranded people.

State and local officials warned against residents traveling to the area which includes camp grounds dotted along the river, with dozens of roads "impassable."

Videos on social media showed houses and trees swept away by the flash flood caused by heavy overnight rain of up to 12 inches -- one-third of Kerr County's average annual rainfall.

Governor Abbott shared a video on X of a victim being plucked from the top of a tree by a rescuer dangling from a helicopter, as floodwaters raged below.

"Air rescue missions like this are being done around the clock. We will not stop until everyone is accounted for," he said.

The Texas National Guard sent rescue teams and the US Coast Guard joined efforts as well.

- 'Another wave' -

Public safety official Martin warned of "another wave" that could impact other counties in the state, adding that "this is not going to end today".

Kerr County officials have repeatedly said they were unaware of an impending flood overnight from Thursday to Friday.

"We didn't know this flood was coming," Kerr County judge Rob Kelly said earlier on Friday, adding that the region has "floods all the time."

"This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States," he added, referring to the Guadalupe River.

Soila Reyna, 55, a Kerrville resident who works at a local church helping people who lost their belongings, witnessed the devastation unfold.

"It has been years since we had a flood, but nothing like this," Reyna said.

"Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people's houses and you know, it's just crazy," she added.

Forecasters issued a flood warning for Kerr County, urging those living near the river to "move to higher ground."

Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.

But scientists say in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events like floods, droughts and heatwaves more frequent and intense.

In mid-June, at least 10 people were killed by flash flooding in San Antonio following torrential rains.

In the northeastern state of New Jersey, at least two people were killed when a tree fell on their vehicle during a "severe storm," local police confirmed on Friday.