Indonesia clashes with China in South China Sea. (symbolic)
Jakarta: China, which often shows its dominance in the South China Sea, has been fooled this time. After the clash with the Indonesian coast guard, the spark of war has flared up in the sea. Indonesia has claimed that China could not stand before its coast guards for long and ran away with its ship. Indonesia claimed its patrol ships forced a Chinese coast guard ship to retreat in a disputed area of the South China Sea. Indonesian officials gave this information on Thursday.
Indonesia’s maritime safety agency said the Chinese vessel approached its ship, named ‘MV Geo Coral’, twice, disrupting a survey being conducted to collect seismic data. The survey is being conducted by state energy company PT Pertamina in the part of the South China Sea claimed by both countries. The ‘nine-dash line’ is important for China, which it uses to broadly outline its claim to most of the South China Sea. This ‘nine-dash line’ of China ‘overlaps’ a part of Indonesia’s Exclusive Economic Zone which extends to the Natuna Islands.
Chinese ships used to intrude here daily
A 2016 international arbitration ruling involving the Philippines invalidated most of China’s sweeping claims in the sea. But, China has ignored this decision and called it fake. Chinese ships have regularly entered what Indonesia calls the North Natuna Sea, according to Indonesia. Due to China doing this, the tension between the two countries increases significantly. Chinese coast guard ship CCG 5402 was spotted near the MV Geo Coral on Monday, Indonesian officials said. (AP)