Indonesia
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China’s Large-Scale Reclamation Works Over Disputed Spratly Islands Not Valid: Study
Bajo de Masinloc, Brunei, China, Fiery Cross Reef, Indonesia, Panacot, Reclamation, Scarborough Shoal, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, Taiwan, VietnamIn the course of the dispute over the Spratly Islands, China’s extensive reclamation works do not necessarily act as a ticket to win sovereignty claims in accordance with the maritime provisions of international law. A Eurasia Review analysis cited China’s ongoing infrastructure projects on several of the seven reefs it occupies in Spratly. But according […]
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Indonesia & China struggling over the South China Sea?
Is Beijing targeting Indonesia? According to The Diplomat, the Natuna Islands may be the next claim of China in the South China Sea. But the difference this time is the fact that it belongs to Indonesia. Beijing recently promulgated a map with certain boundaries that claims parts of the South China Sea, including the Natuna […]
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Even Indonesia: Concerns over China’s Reach in the South China Sea
China’s maritime disputes with its Asian neighbors over the Senkaku Islands, the Spratly Islands, and the Paracel Islands have made these collections of islets well known. (In China, they are known as the Diaoyu, Nansha, and Xisha Islands, respectively.) So far, Indonesia has largely stayed out of the fray—so much so that it is rarely […]
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RI to strengthen defense in South China Sea
To increase its military defenses in the South China Sea, the government is preparing to establish an F16 fighter jet squadron in Pekanbaru, Riau Islands, and an Apache helicopter squadron near the South China Sea. Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government had decided upon the measure to safeguard Asia’s largest gas field exploration at […]
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Should Asia be Afraid? China’s Strategy in the South China Sea Emerges
China continues to play a long game in asserting its territorial claims and hegemonic ambitions in the South China Sea (SCS). After its confrontation with Vietnam over the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig in May this year, Beijing has recently announced that it intends to build lighthouses on five islands in the SCS, two of […]
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Hold the Line Against Beijing
According to official tallies, Joko Widodo — popularly known by Indonesians as “Jokowi”— has emerged as the clear winner of a heated presidential election in Indonesia. But it’s uncertain how the new Indonesian leader will address pressing regional security issues — most immediately, the South China Sea’s tinderbox of maritime and territorial conflicts. As China […]
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Indonesia: A Bigger Role in the South China Sea?
Sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea are at the heart of increasing tensions in Southeast Asia. In early May, the dispatch of a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters and the subsequent standoff with Vietnam had the effect of centralizing global attention on the confrontation between China and some of its ASEAN neighbors. Although […]
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Beijing’s dangerous arrogance in the South China Sea
Anti China Protesters, China, Illegal Fishing, Indonesia, Intentional Rammings, Mob Violence, Natuna, Oil, Oil Rig, Philippines, Poaching, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, Vietnam, Water CannonChina’s current behaviour vis-à-vis its South China Sea neighbours is aggressive, arrogant and smacks of Han chauvinism and ethnocentrism. Far from being an expression of national pride, it is giving patriotism a bad name. Patriotic Hongkongers should recognise it for what it is: a dangerous ploy. Not only has Beijing bared expansionist teeth to Vietnam […]
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Indonesia Stresses Importance of Code of Conduct in South China Sea
Naypyidaw, Myanmar. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Friday that it was important for members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China “to quickly conclude” the talks on a code of conduct on the South China Sea. “The recent incident in the South China Sea reminded us of the importance of concluding […]
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US, China ink pact on unintended sea conflict
Brunei, Cambodia, China, Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, CUES, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South China Sea Dispute, Thailand, USA, VietnamBEIJING—China, the United States, Japan and more than a dozen other Asia-Pacific countries have signed a naval agreement aimed at ensuring miscommunication between ships at sea does not escalate into conflict. The Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, which was agreed Tuesday in the eastern port city of Qingdao, would reduce the potential for “situations […]