Indonesia says it drove away Chinese vessel twice after disrupting energy survey

Chinese coast guard vessel driven out of Indonesia's waters after disrupting survey, highlighting tensions in South China Sea.

A Chinese coast guard vessel was driven out of Indonesia's waters for a second time this week after it initially disrupted a survey by state energy firm Pertamina in the South China Sea, Indonesia's maritime security agency said on Thursday (October 24, 2024).

While Chinese coast guard vessels have been spotted numerous times in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the most recent incidents came just days after Prabowo Subianto took over Indonesia's presidency.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea via a "nine-dash line" on its maps that cuts into the 200 nautical mile EEZs of Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in 2016 said China's claim has no basis under international law, a ruling Beijing does not recognise.

The incidents took place off Indonesia's Natuna islands, roughly 1,500 km from China's Hainan island. The exact locations were not immediately clear.

The Chinese vessel on Monday insisted the area was China's jurisdiction, Indonesia's maritime security agency, known as Bakamla, said in a statement.

"Bakamla will keep patrolling and intensively monitoring the waters of North Natuna to ensure seismic data gathering can go without disruption to Indonesia's sovereignty," the agency said on Monday (October 21, 2024).