No Philippines-China talks on sea row for two years

Indonesia today defended opening fire on Chinese sailors as an action aimed at stopping illegal fishing, after the latest confrontation between the nations in the South China Sea.

But Jakarta has objected to China's inclusion of parts of the Indonesian-ruled Natuna Islands within a "nine-dash line" that Beijing marks on maps to show its claim on the body of water.

A Chinese fishing boat entered those waters on Friday, prompting an Indonesian naval vessel to fire a warning shot, injuring one person.

In a related development, Chinese cruise ships will regularly bring tourists to the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea by 2020, reports said Wednesday, as tensions mount in the region.

Unlike some of its Southeast Asian neighbours, Indonesia does not dispute ownership of reefs or islets in the sea with China.

The Paracels, known as the Xisha Islands in Chinese, are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

In May, the Chinese government cancelled a port visit in Hong Kong, saying it was "inconvenient" for the flattop to pull in.

"It could quickly ratchet up ... but you never really know", he said, adding Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who takes office at the end of this month, remains "a bit of a wild card". "It is impossible that there is an agreement between countries that allows for stealing fish".

"The president ordered him to defend Indonesia's territorial sovereignty that we have struggled to build up since our independence", he said. However, Hanafi reminded the government to uphold the principal of "soft on people, hard on problem" to maintain good relationship with China.

More Chinese fishing boats have been detected in the vicinity this year, he said.

"South Africa supports the position that the sovereign states that are directly concerned should resolve their relevant disputes through direct consultations and negotiations, on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with worldwide law, as well as to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea", the South African Foreign Ministry said.

Sumarkidjo compared the incident with those in the past and stated the Chinese ships were fishing in the area that Indonesia claims is part of its Exclusive Economic Zone.

Rather, said Euan Graham, director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, the U.S. Navy is attempting more complex "big unit" maneuvers in the Pacific for strategic reasons - including practicing ways to better integrate the 7th and 3rd Fleets. In March, Indonesia detained the crew of a fishing boat in a scuffle involving a Chinese coast guard vessel.

An Asean official revealed that the foreign ministers of the group had initially reached a common ground in Kunming to have a rare and candid statement over the Chinese territory, but Laos, which now holds chairmanship of Asean, and Cambodia expressed dissent, which led to the withdrawal of the statement.

Source: No Philippines-China talks on sea row for two years