Indonesia opens military base on edge of South China Sea to ‘deter security threats’
- President Joko Widodo, who is seeking re-election, stressed the government is ready to make clear that the Natuna Islands are its sovereign territory
- Jakarta and Beijing have had maritime skirmishes in the area, as China insists the two countries’ claims to rights and interests overlap
Indonesia this week opened a military base with more than 1,000 personnel on the southern tip of the disputed South China Sea, where the territorial claims of China and several other countries overlap.
The base, which opened on Tuesday, is located in Selat Lampa on Natuna Besar Island – part of the Natuna Islands – one of the country’s outermost areas and more than 200km off the island of Borneo.
Indonesia is not a claimant state in the South China Sea but Jakarta and Beijing have had several maritime skirmishes in the resource-rich area, including one in 2016 when an Indonesian patrol boat seized a 300-tonne Chinese fishing vessel.
Several hours later, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel rammed the fishing boat, resulting in the Indonesian authorities releasing it.
At an inauguration ceremony for the base, Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said the outpost is designed to work as a deterrent against any potential security threats, particularly on border areas, according to military spokesman Colonel Sus Taibur Rahman.
