Indonesia unveils new military drone as feud over South China Sea incursions escalates
- Indonesia has protested to Beijing over continued illegal fishing and the presence of China’s coastguard off its Natuna Islands
- A military analyst has questioned why Indonesia is touting a domestic aerial drone when it could have bought one from China for much less
But the fact that the roll-out of a prototype of its MALE unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, came on the same day that Jakarta filed a diplomatic protest with Beijing caused a stir, even if unintentionally.
On Sunday, the Indonesian military said Chinese vessels remain in the area, despite the diplomatic protest. The Jakarta Post reported that the vessels, accompanied by Chinese coastguard vessels, were seen catching fish about 200km from Natuna. Two Indonesian warships were deployed to drive them out of the area, but Chinese officials reportedly said the ships were performing “routine” activities to assert China’s rights in the nearby Spratly Islands.
On Monday, an official said Indonesia was “not at war” with China, but would not tolerate border violations by any country.
“A foreign country can’t enter our territory even an inch without the government’s approval,” the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Mohammad Mahfud, told reporters.
“We are not at war, we are simply protecting our sovereignty. But there’s no negotiation because the area is ours and it’s final under international law,” he said.
