President Prabowo Subianto. — The Jakarta Post
Sixty-seven years ago, Indonesia made a bold step that contributed to changing the face of global ocean affairs and the law of the sea, forever.
In 1957, the-then prime minister Djuanda Kartawidjaja made a declaration asserting that Indonesia was a united archipelagic entity encompassing not only land territory but also maritime space among its thousands of islands. It was known as the Djuanda Declaration.
Indonesia brought that proposal to the global stage, asking that a country consisting of many islands and encompassing vast maritime areas like Indonesia be recognised as an Archipelagic State.
With good collaboration and support from similar countries like Fiji and the Philippines, the proposal was finally accepted and adopted in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982.
Nearly seven decades after the Djuanda Declaration, it is a good time to reflect on Indonesia’s interest in oceanic affairs, especially under the new presidency of Prabowo Subianto .
One important move taken by Prabowo’s administration was the abolition of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Ministry.
The Nov 9 joint statement made by President Prabowo and Chinese President Xi Jinping on maritime collaboration also indicated an important change in Indonesia’s position regarding ocean affairs and the law of the sea.
Through the statement, it was as if Indonesia recognised China’s so-called “nine-dash line” claim by explicitly stating that the two countries had reached a “common understanding on joint development in areas of overlapping claims”.
This can also be perceived as a significant change of Indonesia’s position in the South China Sea issue, even though the Foreign Ministry has officially clarified that Indonesia’s views regarding the nine-dash line remain unchanged.
It might be too early to judge but following the recent development, here are five key observations about Indonesia’s current maritime policy trajectory. First, with the removal of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Ministry, Indonesia may lose centralised authority to oversee cross-sectoral maritime issues.
This may risk inefficiencies in addressing complex challenges that Indonesia is currently facing such as maritime security, fisheries management and oceanic research.
Second, Indonesia might be perceived as having a softer stance on the South China Sea issue and this has raised eyebrows domestically and internationally.
Countries in the region that have been directly affected by the nine-dash line claim of China might not be happy to see Indonesia’s changing position. This may in turn weaken Indonesia’s leadership position in the region.
Third, the move could potentially slow down investment in key maritime sectors, such as fisheries, port infrastructure and tourism. This could negatively impact small coastal communities and maritime industries as they struggle to thrive.
Fourth, Indonesia’s attention to important global issues, such as climate change might become limited.
While the world is facing critical occurrences such as rising sea levels, warming ocean temperatures and biodiversity loss, the absence of a coordinating agency can limit Indonesia’s contribution in providing solutions.
Fifth, Indonesia could miss ocean-related leadership opportunities on the regional and international stages.
The ministry was quite active in leading collaboration in the region such as the establishment of the Archipelagic and Island States Forum.
Now, with its dissolution, it is intriguing to see how Indonesia will play such roles. I propose five actionable ideas to ensure oceans remain a national priority. First, without a coordinating ministry, the government should find a way to improve interagency collaboration.
Creating relevant taskforces in cabinet structure can be a prospective idea. Certainly, we must make sure that such taskforces will not complicate the coordination process. Second, Indonesia needs to reassert and reaffirm its position on critical issues such as the South China Sea.
Reaffirming its position as a non-claimant state promoting the upholding of UNCLOS is important. It will not be easy, however, to navigate between ideal legal principles and pragmatic interests.
Third, through technical ministries and other relevant agencies, Indonesia needs to refocus on developing maritime economic sectors and the blue economy. Investment should focus on these areas that can in turn strengthen community resilience.
Fourth, Indonesia must continually pay close attention to local actions that can contribute to the mitigation of global warming, sea level rises and coastal-related disasters. In this case, international collaboration is key, and Indonesia needs to find relevant agencies to play such roles.
Fifth, as a natural leader in Asean, Indonesia needs to reclaim its maritime leadership.
I Made Andi Arsana is head of the master’s programme of geomatics engineering, Department of Geodetic Engineering, School of Engineering, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
