Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD chaired a closed meeting at this ministry’s headquarters on January 3.
The meeting’s content was not publicised, but information sources confirmed that the event was to discuss measures to cope with China’s claims over the waters near the Natuna Islands.
Issues on the northern waters of Natuna became the Indonesian Government’s concern after the country’s authorised forces discovered many fishing boats escorted by China’s coast guard vessels trespassing Indonesia’s EEZ.
In the face of this situation, many opinions in the Indonesian parliament called for a maritime security law to be adopted and the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency’s jurisdiction to be enhanced to defend the country’s waters against China’s activities.
