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.



Indonesian President Meets Biden and Speaks with Trump, Pledges Cooperation

 President Joe Biden shakes hands with Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto, left, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP)
President Joe Biden shakes hands with Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto, left, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP)
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Indonesian President Meets Biden and Speaks with Trump, Pledges Cooperation

 President Joe Biden shakes hands with Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto, left, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP)
President Joe Biden shakes hands with Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto, left, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP)

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto met with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday and offered his congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump by phone during an official visit to Washington.

"I will work very hard to strengthen Indonesian-United States relationship, and I would like to work towards this end that we have a strong cooperation," said Prabowo.

Prabowo, who has said he will pursue a non-aligned foreign policy, met with Biden in the Oval Office after posting a video of his call to Trump.

He arrived in Washington straight from China, where he had met with President Xi Jinping on his first overseas trip since taking office last month.

Washington sees Indonesia, the most populous country in Southeast Asia, as an important partner in a region where its rival Beijing has deep trade and investment ties. Indonesia is also the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.

While China is a key economic partner for Indonesia, Jakarta has also become a big buyer of US arms, and it wants to sell the West more metals from its mines.

At the White House, Biden said the two leaders were discussing climate, conflict in the Middle East and the South China Sea.

Indonesia said on Monday it does not recognize China's claims over the vast majority of the South China Sea, despite signing a maritime development deal with Beijing.

"We continue to encourage Indonesia to work with their legal experts to make sure any agreement they make with (the People's Republic of China) is in accordance with international law, especially the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," said White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre at a press briefing.

After the meeting, Biden and Prabowo pledged in a joint statement to expedite ongoing talks on critical minerals between the two countries.

Last year, resource-rich Indonesia, who wants to become a major player in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and their batteries, asked the US to begin talks on a trade deal for critical minerals so that exports from the Southeast Asian country can be covered under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.

Prabowo and Biden also called for all parties in the conflict in army-ruled Myanmar to create conditions for dialogue as the country remains besieged by a conflict set off by a 2021 military coup.

Both leaders expressed support for the development of a code of conduct between Southeast Asian countries and China in the tension-filled South China Sea.

TRUMP CALL

Prabowo's office said he made the call to Trump on Monday after arriving in Washington. It did not immediately respond when asked if he is scheduled to meet Trump in person.

"Wherever you are, I'm willing to fly to congratulate you personally, sir," Prabowo said in the video of the call posted on his social media accounts.

"We'll do that, anytime you want," Trump replied.

Trump described his own election victory as amazing, and said it gave him a big mandate.

He also said the Indonesian president was "very respected," and praised his English, to which Prabowo, a former special forces commander, replied: "All my training is American, sir."

Prabowo also met with several US company representatives in Washington, his office said, including from Freeport McMoRan and energy company Chevron, and urged the companies to invest in Indonesia.