The vice-president said on Monday that Indonesia firmly stands in asserting its exclusive right to a corner of the West Philippine Sea where there has been a heated encounter between Indonesian navy ships and Chinese vessels.
Indonesia would send a message to Beijing urging to uphold the Southeast Asian nation’s sovereignty over waters around the Natuna Islands, Jusuf Kalla told Reuters.
Over the weekend, China’s Foreign Ministry said that an Indonesian naval vessel fired on a Chinese fishing boat near the chain of islands on Friday, injuring one person.
As a response, Indonesia’s navy fired warning shots at several boats with Chinese flags it accused of fishing illegally but there were no injuries.
It was the third reported confrontation near the Natuna Islands this year and comes amid rising regional tensions over China’s assertiveness in the West Philippine Sea.
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