Jakarta, IO – President Joko Widodo recently issued Presidential Regulation (Perpres) 41/2022 which stipulates a strategy to preserve Indonesia’s sovereignty over its maritime border in the Natuna Sea. The decree on the Natuna and North Natuna Sea Zoning Plans contains two policies to create a defense and security zone in Natuna territorial waters.
Natuna waters has been drawn into the international limelight. China has claimed the territory as its own based on its unilaterally-imposed “Nine-Dash Line.” On the contrary, ASEAN countries have agreed that territorial boundaries in parts of the South China Sea had been formally established pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ratified in 1982.
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The issuance of the Perpres 41 is expected to provide stability in the border area as stated in Article 7(f) stipulating the management of defense areas in an effective, efficient and environmentally friendly manner.