REFILE-UPDATE 1-Indonesia's president visits island in waters disputed by China

(Edits to refer to Chinese foreign ministry spokesman as Geng
is second to last par)
JAKARTA, Jan 8 (Reuters) - President Joko Widodo visited an
island in waters disputed by China on Wednesday to assert
Indonesia's sovereignty amid a standoff between Indonesian and
Chinese vessels.
The confrontation began in mid-December when a Chinese coast
guard vessel and fishing boats, entered waters in Indonesia's
exclusive economic zone, off the coast of the northern Natuna
islands, prompting Jakarta to summon Beijing's ambassador.
Widodo told reporters on Natuna Besar island that the
disputed waters belong solely to Indonesia.
"We have a district here, a regent, and a governor here," he
said. "There are no more debates. De facto, de jure, Natuna is
Indonesia."
Widodo also met with fishermen on the island. Earlier this
week, Indonesia deployed more ships and fighter jets to patrol
the surrounding waters. Nursyawal Embun, the director of sea
operations at the Maritime Security Agency, said as of Wednesday
morning that two Chinese coast guard vessels remained, while 10
Indonesian ships were on patrol.
China has not claimed the Natuna islands themselves, but
says it has nearby fishing rights within a self-proclaimed
Nine-Dash Line that includes most of the South China Sea - a
claim that is not recognized internationally.
In 2017, Indonesia renamed the northern reaches of its
exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea as the North
Natuna Sea, as part of a push back against China's maritime
territorial ambitions.
The dispute has soured Indonesia's generally friendly
relationship with China, its biggest trading partner and a major
investor in Southeast Asia's largest country.
In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Luhut Pandjaitan,
coordinating minister for maritime resources and investment,
said that both Beijing and Jakarta will forge ahead with
diplomatic discussions.
"What's the point of war? Nothing. Wars are the last step to
a failing diplomatic process," Pandjaitan said.
China claims most of the South China Sea, a global trade
route with rich fishing grounds and energy reserves, based on
what it says is its historic activity. But Southeast Asian
countries, supported by the United States and much of the rest
of the world, say such claims have no legal basis.
On Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang
said Beijing and Jakarta are in contact through diplomatic
channels. "We wish to, with Indonesia, continue to appropriately
deal with differences and uphold peace and stability in
bilateral relations and the region," Geng said.
The last peak in tensions between Indonesia and China over
the South China Sea was in 2016. At the time, Widodo held a
meeting with several of his ministers on board a naval ship in a
show of support.