Maritime group to study RI's sea traffic plan
Maritime group to study RI's sea traffic plan
JAKARTA (JP): The International Maritime Organization (IMO)
meets in London next week to consider Indonesia's controversial
plan to regulate sea traffic in its territory, a senior
Indonesian diplomat said.
Indonesia plans to require vessels sailing through its
archipelagic waters to use one of three proposed North-South sea
lanes, a move strongly opposed by the United States and
Australia. The meeting will start on July 14.
The separate sea lanes consist of the Sunda Strait between
Java and Sumatra; the Lombok Straits between Bali and Lombok
islands; and the Maluku Sea to Timor and Arafura Sea.
"Our proposal was discussed by the Maritime Safety Committee
of IMO last December, and this will continue on July 14," Hasyim
Djalal, ambassador-at-large for the law of the sea and maritime
affairs, told The Jakarta Post recently.
Under the plan, Indonesia may require submarines, warships,
tankers, nuclear power ships and vessels carrying dangerous and
toxic materials to use the designated sea lanes.
Hasyim said the plan would not affect regular passage outside
of the sea lanes, including for commercial vessels.
However, when warships, aircraft carriers and submarines pass
outside of the designated lanes, they would have to sail on the
surface, secure their weapons and deactivate radars. In addition,
they would be prohibited from military exercises or aircraft
takeoffs from their decks.
Hasyim hoped the adoption of the plan would ensure legal order
in Indonesia's waters to enable the country to concentrate on its
effective development.
"This is very important for our national security and
environment," he said.
U.S. diplomats argue the plan would limit movement of its
warships through the region.
Australia said Indonesia's requirement would impose
unacceptable limits on free passage for its ships and would
increase shipping costs.
"These two countries are very concerned, and therefore we
undertook consultations with them," said Hasyim, who will lead
the Indonesian delegation in the negotiations.
Hasyim denied Indonesia wanted to obstruct passage outside the
sea lanes, as some countries feared.
"All we have to do is to allocate these sea lanes and then
recommend certain vessels should pass through them," he said.
Negotiations had brought much progress, he added.
"We have reached some understanding, but of course we have not
agreed on everything," he said.
After a 37-year struggle, Indonesia gained international
recognition as an archipelagic state with the United Nations Law
of the Sea Convention 1982.
The House of Representatives passed the bill on Indonesian
Maritime Waters in July last year, and President Soeharto signed
it into law in August.
Indonesia's waters span 6.5 million square kilometers and make
up about three-quarters of its total territory.
"The convention grants us the right to enact laws and
legislations for the safety of navigation in our sea lanes," said
Hasyim.
In several rounds of negotiations with Indonesia, both the
U.S. and Australia demanded the addition of another lane, the
East-West Lane, which in the past had been used for international
navigations. It starts from the Arafura Sea through Java Sea, and
runs towards the Malacca Straits and South China Sea.
"The East-West issue is the most difficult aspect of the
negotiation because we are not ready for this," Hasyim said.
Hasyim hoped next week's meeting, organized by IMO's
subcommittee on Safety of Navigation, would support Indonesia's
plan.
But he acknowledged that the U.S. and Australia may continue
their opposition.
"They and the other maritime powers can block our efforts," he
said. (06)