Indonesia and Australia on Thursday called for maritime peace in the region as well as for the region’s navies to combat maritime terrorism.
Australia, U.S., Russia and China are amongst 40 countries participating in a maritime security symposium in Bali, Indonesia held from Wednesday (August 23) to Friday (August 25).
In his opening remarks, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Wiranto urged countries to keep the Indian and Pacific Ocean peaceful and safe for trade instead of turning it into a battlefield for natural resources amid territorial conflicts.
“We want the Indian and Pacific Ocean to remain peaceful and safe for world trade instead of being a battlefield for natural resources, territorial conflict, and maritime supremacy,” Wiranto said.
He added: “Indonesia has always been in the position of pushing for the peaceful resolution of the South China Sea dispute. There should be no exhibition of power that could incite further conflict, and we are happy that China has agreed with disputing countries to repair their code of conduct regarding the dispute’s peaceful solution.”
Last month, Indonesia renamed the northern reaches of its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea as the North Natuna Sea, the latest act of resistance by Southeast Asian nations to counter China’s territorial ambitions in the maritime region. Seen by analysts as an assertion of Indonesian sovereignty, part of the renamed sea is claimed by China under its contentious maritime boundary, known as the ‘nine-dash line’, that encompasses most of the resource-rich sea.
