Indonesia rejects China's claims over South China Sea

JAKARTA Jan 1 (Reuters) - Indonesia said on Wednesday it
rejected China's claims over a disputed part of the South China
Sea as "having no legal basis", after two days earlier
protesting to Beijing over the presence of a Chinese coastguard
vessel in its territorial waters.
The boat trespassed into Indonesia's exclusive economic zone
off the coast of the northern islands of Natuna, leading
Indonesians officials to issue a "strong protest" and summon the
Chinese ambassador in Jakarta. L4N295169
Speaking in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Geng Shuang had said China had sovereignty over the
Spratly Islands and their waters and that both China and
Indonesia have "normal" fishing activities there.
In a sharp rebuke, Indonesia's foreign ministry called in a
statement on Wednesday for China to explain the "legal basis and
clear borders" regarding its claims on the exclusive economic
zone, as based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS).
"China's claims to the exclusive economic zone on the
grounds that its fishermen have long been active there...have no
legal basis and have never been recognized by the UNCLOS 1982,"
the foreign ministry said.
Jakarta also noted that the argument had been refuted during
China's legal defeat against the Philippines in 2016 over
disputed South China claims at Permanent Court of Arbitration in
The Hague.
Indonesia has no claims over the Spratly Islands, which lie
to the northeast of the Natuna Islands.
The foreign ministry reiterated its stance that the country
is a non-claimant state in the South China Sea and that it has
no overlapping jurisdiction with China.
However, Jakarta has repeatedly clashed with China over
fishing rights around the Natuna Islands, detaining Chinese
fishermen and expanding its military presence in the area.
China claims most of the South China Sea, an important trade
route which is believed to contain large quantities of oil and
natural gas.
Several Southeast Asian states dispute China's territorial
claims and are competing with China to exploit the South China
Sea's abundant hydrocarbon and fishing resources.
Beijing has raised the ante by deploying military assets on
artificial islands constructed on shoals and reefs in disputed
parts of the sea.
China's embassy in Indonesia was not immediately reachable
for comment.