bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis accepted Indonesia renaming an area previously considered part of the South China Sea during his visit to the country – potentially upsetting China.
“Certainly Indonesia, as a fulcrum, a maritime fulcrum of the Indo-Pacific area, is critical,” Mattis told a joint press conference after bilateral talks with Indonesian defence minister Ryamizard Ryacudu.
He also expressed a readiness to embrace the name newly assigned by Indonesia to waters around the Natuna Islands.
“We can help maintain maritime domain awareness in the South China Sea, the North Natuna Sea,” Mattis added. “This is something that we look forward to doing.”
In July, the Indonesian government unveiled an updated national map in which the country’s exclusive economic zone north of the Natuna Islands had been renamed the North Natuna Sea. It was previously part of the South China Sea.
Indonesia investigates ‘defamatory’ insults on Instagram about the Sultan of Brunei

In 2002, Indonesia renamed the section of the South China Sea within its EEZ the Natuna Sea, except for the waters north of the Natuna Islands.
And in 2015, it called upon the US to help host military exercises near the sparsely populated archipelago.
With the latest name change, South China Sea is no longer used for any part of Indonesia’s territorial waters.
While China recognises Indonesian sovereignty over the Natuna Islands, it insists the two countries have overlapping claims to maritime rights and interests in the area that still need to be resolved – a claim that Indonesia rejects.
Immediately after the name change, China expressed opposition to the move, saying changing an “internationally accepted name” resulted in the “complication and expansion of the dispute, and affects peace and stability” and will not be “conducive” for the peaceful relationship between Jakarta and Beijing.
How Bali’s Chinese were integrated into island society – in contrast to elsewhere in Indonesia
Indonesia insisted, however, that it had the right to name its territorial waters and that the North Natuna Sea falls within its territory.
Mattis earlier expressed concern about China’s assertive territorial claims in the East and South China seas.

In the East China Sea, China and Taiwan both claim a group of uninhabited islets called the Senkakus administered by Japan.
And in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which over one-third of global trade passes, China has overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.
During the press conference, Mattis repeatedly used the term Indo-Pacific in place of Asia-Pacific.
The term, having been promoted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe since 2007 when he initiated the quadrilateral security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the United States, has grown in usage over the past few years.
It is said that regional architecture covers a broader, democratic-led region in contrast to the Asia-Pacific, where some countries are gripped by China’s influence.
Some political analysts view the Indo-Pacific concept an attempt to move the focus away from China to emphasise India and Indian Ocean countries including Indonesia.


DeepSeek’s Liang Wenfeng makes the cut in top 10 ‘people who shaped science in 2025’

7 Chinese warships followed our navy vessel on its East Asia mission, New Zealand says

Critically ill Filipino removed from US deportation flight minutes before take-off

Hong Kong’s financial hub gets a gold star for governance, red flag on readiness

United States

US may upset Beijing after it backs Indonesian claim on South China Sea near Natuna islands

US Defence Secretary James Mattis shakes hands with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during his visit to Indonesia. Mattis backed the country renaming waters north of the Natuna islands in the area, a move that may irritate Chine. Photo: AFP

Indonesian President Joko Widodo onboard the Imam Bonjol warship to the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea. PHOTO: Indonesian President Office

JAK01:INDONESIA-MILITARY:NATUNA ISLANDS,INDONESIA,15SEP96 - An amphibious tank manned by Indonesian marines takes part in a military exercise off Indonesia's Natuna Islands in the South China Sea September 13. The military exercise was designed to prepare Indonesian forces to protect the islands which will soon be the site of a multi-billion dollar gas project. jdg/str REUTERS

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

China has previously objected to Indonesia’s decision to rename a section of the South China Sea as the North Natuna Sea


Indonesia

South China Sea