Maritime studies
A historical phenomenon in the life of the state seldom occurs single-handedly or isolated, but instead is interrelated to another conspicuous occurrence. Following the rise of Abdurrahman Wahid as the fourth President of the republic, there never has been such a high sounding and thought inspiring pledge uttered in respect of the high expectation to see Indonesia return to its historical repute as a "seafaring nation". Such a pledge is opportune on the brink of the new millennium.
Appearing at 6 a.m. on SCTV on Oct. 31, 1999, Minister of Maritime Exploration Sarwono Kusumaatmadja pronounced his determination to enforce the laws governing the protection of the seas' natural living resources under Indonesia's sovereign rights. Too many living resources are being clandestinely caught by foreign vessels, estimating an annual loss of US$4 billion, compared to the national yield of fish at $2.2 billion per year.
Ever since the Indonesian government under the Djuanda Cabinet issued in 1958 its renowned Declaration on the application of the archipelagic system of the Indonesian seas by drawing straight baselines along the contours of the archipelago, there was never a significant implementation of the archipelagic system in terms of protection of the seas' living resources other than for purposes of international navigation.
A milestone in Indonesian maritime law was laid down by the past government with Mochtar Kusumaatmadja as foreign minister, the "Father" of the Indonesian law of the seas, when the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of Montego Bay, Jamaica, was signed on Dec. 10, 1982, which Indonesia ratified.
Among the salient new legal regimes of the Montego Bay Convention were those on Archipelagic States, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the novel aspect of the concept of the Continental Shelf.
The peculiar feature characterizing the application of the new regimes on the law of the sea in the Indonesian scene was that the concepts, in effect, merely reflected the rise of legal consciousness and the concomitant political recognition respecting the related spheres.
However, as far as the implementation of the concepts is concerned, particularly in regard to the exploration and exploitation of the seas' living resources, this obviously remains a generally neglected area.
From the academic society, members such as the Association of Experts on Maritime Technology of Indonesia (HATMI) and the Faculty of Oceanographic Studies of Dharma Persada University, made contributions to their common spheres of interest respectively by a symposium on the Activation of Shipping and Maritime Industry in meeting national demands held in April 1999 and a seminar in September 1999. As usual, no meaningful support or reaction appeared from the government branches concerned.
With the emergence of the new pledge demonstrated by the President himself and under the new Ministry of Maritime Exploration, it is anticipated that in elementary and secondary schools, the subject of maritime studies will be introduced.
As an area of national undertaking, the seas within the Indonesian archipelago provide tremendously rich potential and opportunities.
It must be recalled that Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world, meaning that it embraces a large expanse of sea above the Continental Shelf and within the extent of the EEZ, including their seabeds and subsoil, with their living and nonliving resources and minerals.
S. SUHAEDI
Jakarta