To be fair, Blackstone was only reposting what has been a commonly circulated piece of recent news -- I wasn't too sure about the exact nature of the Nantua islands as well, and it's only recently that the Chinese FM has clarified it.
South China Sea Strategies for other nations (Not China)
- Thread starter PanAsian
- Start date
To be fair, Blackstone was only reposting what has been a commonly circulated piece of recent news -- I wasn't too sure about the exact nature of the Nantua islands as well, and it's only recently that the Chinese FM has clarified it.
Brumby
Major
I think you are the one that is inserting yourself into a discussion without offering any reasonable explanation on why you think the discussion is off base. Natuna is geographically located in the SCS and according to the Indonesians there is a problem. So far it seems both governments are talking past each other but that doesn't t mean there isn't a problem. The problem in my view is the overlap between the nine dash line and Indonesia's EEZ. Given that China is unwilling to explain its legal position on the nine dash, it is attempting to avoid the issue entirely by brushing off Indonesia's contention.
The fact that the FM has said in plain language that they have no issue with Indonesian sovereignty over the Natuna islands, suggests it could be an issue arising from ambiguity over the nine dash line, or possibly one of overlapping EEZs.
I'd like to wait for further clarification from the Indonesian side in response to what the Chinese FM has said, to see whether an issue "officially" exists.
Brumby
Major
I think in legal parlance, if one side does not acknowledge a dispute exits then the other side is technically constrained from escalating the matter. This is the same playbook the Japanese is using on the Chinese with the Senkaku island dispute.
Not quite the same, because China isn't saying "no dispute exists" in this case, but rather that they acknowledge and accept the sovereignty of Indonesia over the Natuna islands...
That is a separate issue as to whether the issue of possibly overlapping EEZs, which to be fair, the original Indonesian statement was not very clear about either. The original Indonesian statement made it sound like they were talking about the sovereignty of parts of the Natuna islands, and China seems to be saying "nope, that's yours, no problem". If the issue is about the waters surrounding the islands... well neither side has said so yet.
that is why I'd like to wait and see if there was a degree of miscommunication between various parties in this case, as well as whether the Indonesian security chief who made the statements did so with the backing of the overall Indonesian government.
Brumby
Major
The statement itself is misleading because the dispute is not about Natuna but the surrounding waters. Disputes need not only be about islands but could be about delimitation.
Related Indonesian statements to-date.
Based on more recent Indonesian statements, it would suggest to me that the Indonesian government intends to raise the level if no further progress can be made with China as pointed out by Blackstone's post that triggered a series of comments. .
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Yeah... like I said, I'd be interested to see how Indonesia responds to the statement by the FM, to confirm if the issue really is related to the waters off Natuna.
That said, I'd be surprised if they're really willing to take that route. Their relationship with China has generally been quite positive and stable, and it would throw quite a significantly sized wrench into it if Indonesia brought in a third party into the dispute... so I'd be interested to see if this remark is actually a sign of a policy shift overall, or if it's just a sign of general frustration regarding China's ambiguity regarding the nine dash line.
Blackstone
Brigadier
Dude, I directly quoted a news article and showed its headline. Your problem is with Reuters news agency and not I, so kindly moderate your tone.
SamuraiBlue
Captain
If PRC confirmed Indonesian sovereignty of Natuna islands then it also means they agreed Indonesian EEZ around the island. There is no the islands are yours but the sea surrounding the area is mine.
UNCLOS doesn't work that way.
UNCLOS doesn't work that way.
Sorry dude, it's not my intention to make you uncomfortable.
This news smell sense of media agenda setting to me, as deep as Reuters dig into SCS dispute, we should have already seen full of news like Vietnam conflicts with Cambodia, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Philippines Brunei, basically all sides related to the issue.