Indonesia’s Maritime Strength as an Anticipation of Escalation in the North Natuna Sea Conflict

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-628-4_19How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Maritime Sovereignty; North Natuna Sea; TNI AL and Bakamla Defense Equipment

Abstract

As the world’s largest archipelagic nation, Indonesia faces significant challenges in safeguarding its maritime sovereignty, particularly in the North Natuna Sea, which is threatened by China’s claims under the Nine Dash Line. The rising tensions in the South China Sea highlight the urgency of strengthening Indonesia’s naval defense and security forces. This study analyzes the effectiveness of government policies in enhancing the primary weapons systems (Alutsista) of the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) as strategic responses to protect sovereignty in the North Natuna Sea. By using a comparative approach between the maritime capabilities of Indonesia and China, this study highlights the significant gaps in the number and quality of fleets possessed by the two countries. The Bakamla, with 56 vessels, is far from ideal in facing the continually expanding maritime power of China. China, with up to 400 coast guard ships, supported by a highly advanced national shipbuilding industry, has successfully projected its power in the South China Sea. This study concludes that to maintain sovereignty in the North Natuna Sea, Indonesia needs not only to increase the quantity and modernization of Bakamla’s fleets but also to build a stronger synergy between maritime strength and maritime policy. Strengthening the national shipbuilding industry and investing in advanced maritime technology are considered critical steps to ensure Indonesia can protect its sovereignty and national interests in strategic maritime areas.

Copyright

© 2024 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Rona Sandro
AU  - Christou Imanuel
AU  - Fauzan Siszadli Dwi Farand
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/12/30
TI  - Indonesia’s Maritime Strength as an Anticipation of Escalation in the North Natuna Sea Conflict
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference and Maritime Development (ICMaD 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 174
EP  - 190
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-628-4_19
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-628-4_19
ID  - Sandro2024
ER  -