Indonesia deploys fighter jets, warships to patrol Natuna islands at centre of spat with Beijing

The islands border the South China Sea, most of which is claimed by China although there are competing claims from other Southeast Asian nations

Indonesia does not have a claim in the South China Sea but said it would not tolerate incursions by China – a key trading partner – into its nearby waters

Reading Time:3 minutes

An F-16 C fighter jet arrives at Raden Sadjad military airbase on Natuna Island. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:16pm, 8 Jan 2020Updated: 6:23pm, 8 Jan 2020

Indonesia has deployed fighter jets and warships to patrol islands near the disputed South China Sea, the military said on Wednesday, escalating tensions with Beijing after a diplomatic spat over “trespassing” Chinese vessels.

President Joko Widodo on Wednesday also headed to the fishing-rich waters around the Natuna islands which border the South China Sea, most of which is claimed by China despite competing claims from other Southeast Asian nations including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

China claims the majority of the resource-rich waterway through the so-called nine-dash line, a vague delineation based on maps from the 1940s as the then-Republic of China snapped up islands from Japanese control.

Indonesia does not have a claim in the South China Sea, but has said it would not tolerate incursions by China – a key trading partner – into its nearby waters.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo walks past fighter jets and weapons during a military exercise on Natuna Island. Photo: AFP

The Indonesian military said it had deployed eight warships and four fighter jets ahead of Widodo’s visit in an apparent bid to assert its sovereignty over the region.