In Indonesia, Beijing’s South China Sea presence seen as ‘threat’ to national interests, survey shows

Nearly 40 per cent of respondents said Indonesia and other Asean states should form an alliance to defend Jakarta’s sovereignty in the South China Sea

Instability will affect national interests, Indonesian officials say, urging stronger diplomacy to strengthen country’s position in ‘North Natuna Sea’

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A China Coast Guard ship is seen from an Indonesian naval ship during a patrol at Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone sea in the north of Natuna island, Indonesia, in January 2020. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:00pm, 20 Mar 2024Updated: 2:34pm, 20 Mar 2024

Most Indonesians view China’s presence in the South China Sea as a “threat” and favour forming an alliance with other Southeast Asian nations to defend the country’s sovereignty, a survey has shown.

The views in the poll conducted by the Indonesia Strategic and Defence Studies (ISDS) align with those of the country’s top military and diplomatic officials expressed during a seminar on Tuesday about sovereignty in the South China Sea.

The Jakarta-based think tank polled 312 people in five major cities on the South China Sea territorial dispute, in particular their opinions on Indonesia’s sovereignty in the North Natuna Sea.

Hadi Tjahjanto, Indonesia’s minister for political, legal and security affairs. Photo: AFP

The survey’s results, released on Tuesday, found that more than 73 per cent of respondents perceived China’s presence in the South China Sea as a threat to Indonesia.

Indonesia is not a claimant in the South China Sea but its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Natuna Sea falls within China’s so-called nine-dash line, which Beijing uses to claim around 90 per cent of the disputed waters.

Skirmishes have flared up in the disputed waters a number of times in recent years, including in December 2022, when China sent Coast Guard 5901, the world’s largest coastguard vessel, to patrol the North Natuna Sea.

“In 2023, China again unilaterally issued a new map, adding one-dash line [to its standard map], so its 10-dash lines claim the entire South China Sea region. In some parts, the dotted lines overlap with our EEZ in the North Natuna Sea,” Hadi Tjahjanto, Indonesia’s minister for political, legal and security affairs, said on Tuesday during the seminar held in conjunction with the release of the ISDS survey results.