Indonesia flags unease over Beijing’s South China Sea actions in comments from maritime security chief, army staff college
- The head of the country’s Maritime Security Agency warned of a ‘spillover conflict’ with China in waters near the Natuna Islands
- Views of China being a threat to Indonesia’s sovereignty are also present within the Indonesian military
The chief of Indonesia’s Maritime Security Agency has warned that China’s new coastguard law has heightened the risk of a “spillover conflict” into Indonesia’s territorial waters around the Natuna Islands, the site of past sea skirmishes between the two countries.
Aan was referring to a law that took effect on Monday that allows, among other things, Chinese coastguard vessels to use “all necessary” means, including pre-emptive strikes, against threats by foreign vessels in waters China claims as its own.
Indonesia arms maritime force amid Chinese, Vietnamese fishing boat incursions
A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, Wang Wenbin, said on Thursday that Beijing hoped “relevant countries can objectively and correctly view” the new coastguard law, and that they would “not make unwarranted comments” about the matter.
China and several Southeast Asian nations have been locked in an ongoing dispute over its expansive claims over the energy-rich waters of the South China Sea, which it demarcates on a map with a U-shaped “nine-dash line”.
Indonesia does not have any claims in the South China Sea, but Beijing’s claims over areas that are legally recognised as within Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone – including waters around the Natuna Islands – are a source of tension in bilateral relations.
01:56
Diaoyu-Senkaku islands spat deepens as Japan warns China over coastguard ships in East China Sea
Indonesia and Vietnam are also still negotiating the limits of their maritime boundaries, given that the southern portion of Vietnam’s EEZ borders the Natuna Islands, an archipelago of more than 270 islands.
While Bakamla is not part of Indonesia’s armed forces – coming under the auspices of the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs – the view that China poses a growing threat to Indonesian sovereignty are present within the ranks of Indonesia’s military.
An article in the December 2020 bulletin of the Indonesian Army Command and General Staff College, or Seskoad – a prominent graduate school for Indonesian Army officers who aspire to high-level military careers – concluded that “China’s military attacks in the Natuna Islands are highly imminent, as they have the intention and military capabilities” to carry out such attacks from their base in the Spratly Islands.
China said last year that it had established “administrative districts” on the disputed South China Sea island chains known as the Paracels and Spratlys. It said that both fell under the maritime control of the city of Sansha on Hainan Island.
The Paracels are claimed by Vietnam but were occupied by China in the aftermath of a 1974 invasion that displaced South Vietnamese forces, killing dozens. There are overlapping claims to the Spratlys, including by Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei.
In South China Sea, Philippines fights itself over Beijing’s coastguard law
The article in the Seskoad bulletin, which was written by a team of unidentified authors from within the academy, said China would annex the Natuna Islands to tap into natural gas reserves there if the Indonesian government did not accede to China’s demand to jointly produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the region’s reserves.
It added that the occupation would be “quick, massive and accurate”, beginning as a “strategic intelligent operation” before developing into an “air bombardment from the Spratly Islands, continuing with a sea blockade and ending with an amphibious attack,” where Chinese soldiers would go from a main warship anchored in the sea to the Natunas archipelago and the neighbouring Anambas islands.
The article said that to prevent this from happening, Indonesia must upgrade its defence equipment, integrate the capabilities of all its military branches, and for the Army to show its force in the Anambas Islands, among other recommended precautions.
But analysts cautioned against interpreting the article as an indication that the military was prepared to go to war.
“To civilians, the tone of the article might sound like warmongering, but it is natural for the army,” said Muhammad Haripin, a defence researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.
The alarmist nature of the article, he said, was “the kind of mindset that is being instilled in military institutions such as Seskoad.”
Indonesia’s military schools, including Seskoad, have in recent years adopted a strategic-thinking framework, where the students are being prepared for “the worst-case scenario” Indonesia might face, said Wibawanto Nugroho Widodo, vice-president of operations at Jakarta-based think tank Democracy and Integrity for Peace Institute.
“Students of military schools must analyse the global order … and regional trends and all the assumptions that are believed to be the benchmark of Indonesia’s national security policies,” he said. “They also must think about what the country should do if the worst-case scenario does occur.”
Muhammad added that the Seskoad article alone would not shape Indonesia’s foreign or military policies because the army is not the only instrument of power in the country.
02:19
Taiwan military drill simulates coastal attack amid rising tensions with mainland China
“There are many steps to shape military policies, which include the army chief, the military commander, the Ministry of Defence, and the president as the commander in chief,” Muhammad said.
“There’s no certainty that Seskoad’s view is shared widely among the army or the armed forces in general,” or by the government, he said.
Still, in a sign that Indonesia is increasingly serious about deterring any foreign vessels – especially Chinese and Vietnamese boats – that encroach into its territorial waters in the Natunas, it armed Bakamla patrol boats with submachine guns earlier this year.
Aan told parliament that Bakamla was thankful for being outfitted with the weaponry, but stressed that the guns were only meant for self-defence.
In September, Bakamla drove off a Chinese coastguard vessel in the North Natuna Sea, but only after Jakarta sent a note of protest to Beijing. China’s coastguard vessels were also found to be trespassing in Natuna waters in December 2019.
Last month, Bakamla intercepted a Chinese survey ship that was passing through Indonesian archipelagic sea lanes. The ship switched off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) three times, with the captain claiming that the system was broken.
Aan said at the parliamentary hearing that he suspected the ship – although having the right to pass through the seas lanes, as all foreign vessels do – had turned off its AIS in order to operate underwater sensors.
