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| Image: Flickr User - Official U.S. Navy Page |
By Prashanth Parameswaran
President Jokowi calls for calm in US visit as Washington and Beijing trade barbs.
Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo called for restraint in the South China Sea in Washington, D.C. just hours after the U.S. navy carried out much-anticipated freedom of navigation operation near China’s controversial artificial islands there.
While Indonesia does not consider itself a claimant in the South China Sea disputes, Jokowi told an audience at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, that Indonesia had an important interest in ensuring regional peace and stability. He encouraged all parties to exercise restraint just as China and the United States traded barbs following patrols conducted by USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer within 12 nautical miles of China’s artificially-built islands.
“Indonesia is not a party to the dispute. But we have legitimate interest in peace and stability there. That is why we call on all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that could undermine trust and confidence and put at risk the peace and stability of the region,” Jokowi said in prepared remarks delivered in English. The Indonesian president is on his inaugural visit to the United States which has been cut short due to the haze crisis from raging forest fires back home (See: “Exclusive: US, Indonesia to Strengthen Partnership During Jokowi Visit“).
Tensions in the area, Jokowi said, “must be defused through peaceful means, especially based on UNCLOS,” referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which forms the basis of international law on such questions. Earlier this year, Jokowi told a Japanese newspaper that China’s nine-dash line had “no basis in any international law” (See: “No, Indonesia’s South China Sea Approach Has Not Changed”). The controversial claim is being challenged by the Philippines in a UN tribunal.
“We need to talk closely to ensure good order at sea, prevent incidents and ensure freedom of navigation,” Jokowi added.
Read the full story at The Diplomat