Protecting Indonesia with Permeable Borders

I started 2024 with an important assignment as a panellist of the Presidential Candidate Debate. Together with other 10 panellists, I was tasked by the General Election Commission of Indonesia to prepare questions for the presidential candidates during the third debate on 7 January 2024.

I saw, the assignment as a panellist is an accumulation of my two-decade study on geospatial aspects of the law of the sea, particularly maritime boundary issues. In May 2003, I was involved in a project of border demarcation between Indonesia and Timor Leste. The project brought me to Atambua in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia to conduct Global Positioning System (GPS) campaign. It was an eye-opening experience, where I started to understand the boundary making process and how it really is a multi-disciplinary issue.

My introduction to borders issues in 2003 has motivated me to study the area further through formal educations. I then continued to study master degree at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and PhD at the University of Wollongong, both in Australia. I decided to focus on maritime, instead of land boundary.

In the last two decades, a lot has happened. A maritime boundary agreement on continental shelf (seabed) with Vietnam was signed in June 2003, followed by another agreement with Singapore in 2009. An agreement on exclusive economic zone boundary with the Philippines was signed in May 2014 followed by another one with Singapore in September 2014. The agreements were certainly an achievement for Indonesia but it is far from complete. Some more boundaries are pending.

Indonesia has ten neighbours to deal with: India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Timor Leste. No maritime boundary agreements have been made with Palau and Timor Leste but negotiations are in the process. Around twenty agreements have been in place with eight neighbours. This makes Indonesia one of the most productive countries in establishing boundaries with its neighbours. While Indonesia is productive in making agreements, none of the maritime boundaries with its ten neighbours have been fully completed.

Towards the end of Jokowi’s administration, progress in maritime boundary delimitation has been made. An agreement with Vietnam on exclusive economic zone boundary was signed in December 2022. This means the two agreements of maritime boundaries between Indonesia and Vietnam are almost two decades apart. The latest one is an agreement of territorial sea boundary with Malaysia. This one marks an important progress considering that the last agreement with Malaysia was signed in 1970. It took more than half a century for the two neighbours to make a little progress. Nevertheless, it deserves an appreciation.

Despite the fact that progress in maritime boundary delimitation is real, some might opine that Indonesia could have done better since maritime affairs have been the focus of Jokowi’s administration. During his campaign in 2013, Jokowi introduced the Global Maritime Fulcrum vision, focusing on the responsible utilisation of ocean for prosperity and putting Indonesia on the global map when it comes to maritime affairs. With this strong policy, one might view that Indonesia could have made a better progress in protecting itself through the establishment of maritime boundaries. In fact, maritime boundary delimitation is by no means an easy process.

Indonesia has been consistent in utilising negotiation as the main way to establish maritime boundaries with its neighbours. This also indicates good relationship between Indonesia and its ten neighbours so there is no need to involve third parties in the process. This is the reason why Indonesia decided not to choose mediation, nor arbitration or litigation. Indonesia has never gone to any courts to settle maritime boundary issues with its neighbours.

Indonesia has also made progress by establishing a maritime boundary segment on the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) with Vietnam in the South China Sea. In December 2022, a-long-waited agreement was signed by the leaders from the two countries, and is now in the process of ratification. Many have been sceptical about progress we can make in the South China Sea but Indonesia and Vietnam have proven the opposite. Apart from the fact that China might not be happy about the agreement, Indonesia and Vietnam have proven that a good collaboration and willingness to progress together have always been a key to achieve something good, even in a seemingly unresolvable situation.

The 2022 agreement with Vietnam has yet to be available for public. However, it is likely that Indonesia and Vietnam have achieved a good negotiated boundary line that lies between the claims of Indonesia’s and Vietnam’s. It is also likely that the EEZ boundary line is not coincident with the 2003 seabed boundary. Having said that, the line dividing seabed between Indonesia and Vietnam is different from the one dividing water column above the seabed. In a particular area between Indonesia and Vietnam, the seabed might belong to Vietnam but the water column above it falls within Indonesia’ jurisdiction of EEZ. This can be complicated in terms of management.

After two decades of studies on maritime boundary issues, I have come up with a conclusion that maritime boundaries remain relevant and important. Such boundaries will help countries define their right and obligation regarding ocean management, including maritime security. However, boundaries can also exclude one from others. Here is where permeable boundaries are required. We need well established boundaries but we also need boundaries that are promoting, instead of preventing, interaction. Such boundaries will present to us a higher degree of certainty as well as opportunities for interaction and collaboration.

Completing maritime boundary delimitation is certainly an important agenda Indonesia’s future leaders should have. I wish I had an opportunity to directly ask presidential candidates during the debate for they views on maritime boundaries. I should have asked, in an interconnected world, how will they establish permeable borders to protect Indonesia’s ocean and resources therein.

I Made Andi Arsana