Indonesia says its coast guard drove away Chinese ship that interrupted survey in disputed sea

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian patrol ships drove a Chinese coast guard vessel away from a survey vessel in a disputed area of the South China Sea for the second time in three days, Indonesian authorities said Thursday.

Indonesia's Maritime Security Agency said a Chinese ship approached the MV Geo Coral on Monday and Wednesday, interrupting a seismic data survey being conducted by the state energy company PT Pertamina in a part of the South China Sea claimed by both countries.

Asked about the Indonesian statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the Coast Guard vessel had carried out routine patrols in waters under Chinese jurisdiction. “China is ready to enhance communication and consultation with Indonesia through diplomatic channels and properly handle maritime differences between the two countries,” he added.

China’s “nine-dash line,” which it uses to roughly demarcate its claim to most of the South China Sea, overlaps with a section of Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone that extends from the Natuna Islands.

Indonesia does not have a formal territorial dispute with China over the South China Sea but has become increasingly protective of its rights in the region, while Chinese ships have regularly entered the area Indonesia calls the North Natuna Sea, fueling tensions between the countries.

Indonesian authorities said the Chinese coast guard ship CCG 5402 was first detected near MV Geo Coral on Monday. An Indonesian patrol ship contacted the ship, whose crew insisted that the area was under China's jurisdiction before Indonesian coast guard and navy ships drove the Chinese ship away.

On Wednesday morning, the Chinese ship again approached the site of the seismic survey and was driven away, according to the Maritime Security Agency.

Earlier, the agency had said the second encounter took place Thursday morning.

A video distributed by the agency showed Indonesian coast guard officers speaking to their Chinese counterparts by radio and the China’s coast guard officials.

“This is China Coast Guard 5402. China has indisputable authority over Nansha islands and the adjacent waters,” says the the Chinese officer. “Chinese Coast Guard regular patrol in and above these domestic jurisdictional waters is unquestionable."

The Indonesian coast guard officer replies that the China’s vessel was in Indonesia’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

“Indonesia’s Maritime Security Agency will continue to conduct intensive patrols and monitoring in the waters of North Natuna to ensure that seismic survey activities run smoothly and maintain Indonesia’s sovereignty and sovereign rights,” said the statement.

Clashes at sea between China and its maritime rivals have become increasingly common in recent years, driving tensions especially with the Philippines and Vietnam. Chinese ships also regularly patrol off the island of Borneo and near James Shoal east of the Natuna islands, China’s southernmost territorial claim which Malaysia says belongs to it.

China’s construction and militarization of islands in the South China Sea have increased tensions as the U.S. and others have challenged China’s claims with the dispatch of ships and planes to assert the right to freedom of navigation.

A 2016 international arbitration ruling involving the Philippines invalidated most of China’s sweeping claims in the sea, but China has ignored the ruling and called it a sham.

China has in the past explained its presence in the waters on the basis of “traditional fishing rights.”