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Why fishing boats are on the territorial front lines of the South China Sea
- A stand-off between China and Indonesia near the Natuna Islands highlights the growing role civilian fishing fleets play in national claims
- The deployments are dimming hopes for a code of conduct in the troubled waters, observers say
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Tensions may have eased between China and Indonesia after yet another stand-off over fish-rich waters in the South China Sea but fishing fleets remain at the core of the heated territorial dispute.
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The Natuna Islands off the coast of Borneo are administered by Indonesia but the waters near the archipelago are claimed by China as part of its traditional fishing grounds.
Beijing apparently sought to underscore its point when Chinese fishing boats escorted by a Chinese coastguard vessel went into the area in mid-December, prompting a protest from Jakarta and a promise that it would send around 120 fishermen to the waters to consolidate its control.
On Thursday, a day after Indonesian President Joko Widodo made a high-profile visit to a military base in the islands, Indonesia’s armed forces confirmed that the Chinese vessels had left the area.
But while the risk of immediate conflict has receded, fishing vessels from both countries continue to lurk, making hopes for a maritime code of conduct for the area and the wider South China Sea even more unlikely, observers say.
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