REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian government considers the Natuna dispute with China as having been settled, after Indonesia lodged a strong protest regarding a violation of a Chinese fishing ship entering Natuna waters to illegally fish.

"The matter is considered a misunderstanding and is already settled," Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said at the Presidential Palace complex here on Wednesday.

He noted that Indonesia's position, in terms of borders and traditions with China, is to give priority to mutual respect.

Pramono added that the two sides, the Indonesian and Chinese governments, mutually support peace efforts to settle the problem.

"Including several issues that could trigger tension in the region, priority is given to peace efforts so that mutual respect should be adopted and not to involve those outside the region," the cabinet secretary said.

He added that Natuna is an integral part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia and there is no ownership claims from other countries. "Natuna is ours. There is no other claim at all," he said.

Earlier, on March 21, the Chinese government confirmed that the Natuna waters belonged to Indonesia.

The Chinese government made this confirmation after Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi lodged a strong protest on the action of a Chinese fishing boat which trespassed into the border areas and entered the Natuna waters to illegally fish.

According to Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Susi Pudjiastuti, Natuna waters are not the traditional fishing zone of another country, but are part of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Indonesia.

"There is no traditional fishing zone in Natuna. No one recognizes it as a traditional fishing zone," she stated during the launch of four surveillance ships of the Indonesia Fisheries Inspection System (SKIPI) at Tanjung Priok on Friday (April 8).

It was proper when a ship from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (KKP) seized a fishing boat found poaching in Natuna waters, she affirmed.

The minister said, in pursuit of a solution to the problem, she hoped other countries would respect the steps taken by Indonesia to maintain the sovereignty of its territory.

Pudjiastuti remarked that Indonesia had now become a role model for law enforcement against illegal fishing boats and other irresponsible parties caught poaching fish.

The Indonesia navy's western fleet command has confirmed that Natuna in the Riau Islands is secure, despite recent armed clashes between a KKP vessel and Chinese and Taiwanese ships.

"It is alright. It is still under control. The operation is not new and has been conducted for a long time. It was proven, as no one dares to enter Natuna," Commodore TSNB Hutabarat, commander of the Western Fleet's combat task force, stated here on March 28.

He remarked that until now, personnel from the Ranai naval base and joint army and air force officers around Natuna have continued to guard the territory.

Meanwhile, Mahfud Siddiq of House Commission I overseeing security and foreign affairs emphasized the importance of setting up a military base in Natuna, in a bid to increase the defense capabilities in the country's central region bordering several other nations.

"It is important to set up a military base in Natuna as part of the efforts to enhance the defense capabilities in the central region that shares its borders with other countries and the South China Sea," he noted here on March 24.

He explained that the establishment of a military base in Natuna will complement the defenses in the country's western and eastern regions, which had been established to assure the mobility of the military.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had earlier sent a protest note to Sun Weide, the charge d'affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta, in connection with the violation committed by the Chinese coast guard in Indonesian waters.

"I had summoned the Chinese temporary charge d'affairs in Jakarta, Sun Weide, and during the meeting we lodged a strong protest and submitted a note," she remarked.

In the note, Indonesia had protested the violation carried out by the Chinese coastguard against the country's sovereignty and jurisdiction over the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

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