JOKOWI: From the Past till Now, Natuna was Always being Part of Indonesia

TRIBUNBATAM.id - President Joko Widodo emphasized that the Natuna Islands region is a territory of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.

The islands and their waters are administratively included in the Natuna Regency, Riau Islands, which is the outermost regency in the north.

This was conveyed by President Jokowi when meeting with hundreds of fishermen at the Center for Integrated Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (SKPT) of the Strait of Lampa, the Port of Natuna Strait Fisheries, Natuna Regency, Wednesday (1/8/2020). 

"In Natuna there are a population of 81,000 people, there are also regents and governors (Riau Islands). So don't let us ask questions and doubt ourselves. From the beginning until now, Natuna is part of Indonesia," Jokowi said, as quoted by the broadcast official press. 

Regarding the incidents of foreign ships being reported recently, Jokowi explained that there were no foreign vessels entering Indonesian territory. 

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"But we also have to know whether this foreign country ship entered our territorial sea or not. No one entered our territory. Earlier I asked the TNI Commander, there was none," President Jokowi said.

Accompanying the President on this occasion included Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Edhy Prabowo, Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko, and TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto.

The situation in Natuna waters in the past few days has been heating up after Chinese fishing vessels and coast guards sailed in the region. 

In fact, Natuna waters based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on The Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) were included in Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The Indonesian government tried diplomacy to solve this problem by sending a memorandum of protest against China through the Ambassador in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian National Armed Forces and the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) continue to be alerted in Natuna waters, which are included in Riau Province to monitor conditions there. (*) 

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