The current legal regime of the Indonesian outer small islands

ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes the legal regime of the outermost small islands in the Indonesian archipelago by examining the legal framework and border management, defense and security issues, and challenges of overlapping authority between government agencies. The results indicate that Indonesia still faces challenges with the implementation of the legal framework. These challenges include undetermined maritime borders with neighbouring countries, threats to maritime security, overlapping law enforcement, weak border management and institutional framework problems in the utilisation of these islands. The solutions proposed by this research include the government reaching an agreement with neighbouring countries due to the threats faced. Then, there is a need for an increased number of patrol fleets and improved capability of Navy personnel in strengthening law enforcement and maritime control. Furthermore, an amendment to the laws and regulations should provide clearer provisions to the Navy and the Coast Guard to improve coordination in law enforcement. Finally, the effectiveness of the National Border Management Agency should be strengthened by equipping it with trained personnel capable of effectively cooperating with border institutions from neighbouring countries. Furthermore, this research suggests that integrated national marine policies and governance should be established to coordinate institutional work in managing these islands effectively.

KEYWORDS:

• Institutional framework
• legal regime
• outer small islands
• maritime border
• marine environment

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Indonesian National Border Management Agency (NBMA) staff that supported and provided data in this study. The analysis and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any institution of the Indonesian government.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Statement of ethics

This research was conducted with approval from the Faculty of Law, Sriwijaya University, Indonesia. Permission to conduct the interviews for the purposes of this research was obtained by all respondents, who were fully informed about the purposes of this research and how their responses would be used and stored. All personal profiles of interviewed personnel have been anonymised.

Notes

1 Saleng, Nur and Arisputra, (2018), p 77.

2 Article 1(1) of Government Regulation 62 of 2010 concerning Utilization of Outer Small Islands.

3 Central Bureau of Statistics (2018).

4 Alan White et al (2021), p 576.

5 Buntoro (2016).

6 Notohamijoyo (2021), p 1.

7 JC Kuipers (2011), p 96.

8 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), opened for signature 10 December 1982, 1833 UNTS 397 (entered into force 16 November 1994).

9 Vinata, Kumala and Serfiyani (2023), p 2.

10 Article 47(3) of UNCLOS, (n 8).

11 Article 47(5) of UNCLOS.

12 Article 47(8) of UNCLOS.

13 Article 47(9) of UNCLOS.

14 Act 6 of 1996 concerning Indonesian Waters.

15 Article 5(4) of Act 6 of 1996 concerning Indonesian Waters.

16 Schofield and Arsana (2009), p 57.

17 Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific and US Department of State (2014), p 11.

18 Article 3 of Presidential Decree 78 of 2005 concerning Outer Islands Management.

19 Insight of the Archipelago is the nation's perspective as a unit and prioritises national interests over personal interests. It means that every Indonesian citizen must act and behave as a whole for the unity and interest of the State.

20 Anwar (2020), p 117.

21 Article 6 of Government Regulation 62 of 2010 (n 2).

22 The map's large scale is important to describe the terrain in detail with contour lines. It is essential to follow the ground delimitation. See Batista, Suárez and Saltarén (2017), p 108.

23 Supardan and Artanto (2014), p 2.

24 Abidin and Deliarnoor (2018), p 27.

25 Presidential Decree 12 of 2010 concerning National Border Management Agency.

26 Kurdi (2020), p 2.

27 Widodo, Rachma and Prananda, (2019), p 118.

28 The Free Aceh Movement is a former armed separatist movement whose goal is to separate Aceh from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. This separatist group had been at war with the Indonesian Government from 1976 to 2005 and claimed 15,000 lives. For more details, see Stange and Patock (2010), p 97.

29 Stange and Patock (n 12), p 101.

30 Asal and Hastings (2015),p 734.

31 Sebastian, Syailendra and Marzuki (2018), p 65.

32 Presidential Decree 178 of 2014 of concerning the Coast Guard Agency.

33 Article 1(3) of Presidential Decree 178 of 2014.

34 Article 2 of Presidential Decree 178 of 2014.

35 Article 4 Presidential Decree 178 of 2014.

36 Nani Afrida (14 November 2016) ‘Bakamla Foils 86 Smuggling Attempts This Year’ The Jakarta Post https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/11/14/bakamla-foils-86-smuggling-attempts-this-year.html

37 Article 4 of Government Regulation 13 of 2022 concerning the Implementation of Security, Safety, and Law Enforcement in the Indonesian Sea and Jurisdictional Areas.

38 Article 3 of Government Regulation 13 of 2022.

39 Mitchell (2016), p 178.

40 Didik Agus Suwarsono (28 December 2021) ‘Delapan Nelayan Indonesia Yang Ditangkap Otoritas Malaysia Dipulangkan’ https://kkp.go.id/djpsdkp/artikel/37132-delapan-nelayan-indonesia-yang-ditangkap-otoritas-malaysia-dipulangkan.

41 Fauzan, Abdullah and Ahmad (2019) p 161.

42 Fauzan, Abdullah and Ahmad (n 39), p 162.

43 Pratomo (2016), p 79.

44 Alunaza, Pertiwi and A Sudagung (2018), p 135.

45 Sodik, (2018) p 34.

46 Frederik (2011) p 156.

47 Hampton and Jeyacheya (2015), p 11.

48 Priambodo (2018), p 246.

49 Sookyeon Huh (2015), p 712.

50 Lay and Astrina (2020) 93(1), p 127.

51 Lay and Astrina (n 47), p 129.

52 Down to Earth (August 2003) ‘International Concerns over Illegal Logging Dominate Indonesian Forest Policy’ https://www.downtoearth-indonesia.org/story/international-concerns-over-illegal-logging-dominate-indonesian-forest-policy.

53 Sri Haryati (12 January 2020) ‘Chinese Coast Guard and Fishing Vessels Still Trespass Indonesian EEZ’ https://en.antaranews.com/news/139568/chinese-coast-guard-and-fishing-vessels-still-trespass-indonesian-eez.

54 Novan Iman Santosa (07 January 2020) ‘Keeping Chinese Fishing Vessels from Natuna, Defending People's Welfare’ https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2020/01/07/keeping-chinese-fishing-vessels-from-natuna-defending-peoples-welfare.html.

55 Zhu Xi (13 November 2015) ‘China Holds No Objection to Indonesia's Sovereignty over Natuna Islands’ http://en.people.cn/n/2015/1113/c90000-8975641.html.

56 Xi (n 52).

57 Kipgen (2021), p 117.

58 Majumdar (2021), p 5.

59 Zhang (2017), p 445.

60 Zhang (n 57), p 446.

61 Zhao (2018), p 4.

62 Quintos (2018), p 261.

63 Mossop (2018), p 221.

64 Pratomo (n 41).

65 Guilfoyle (2019), p 1011

66 Desierto (2020) p 269.

67 Darmayadi and Purnamasari (2022) p 46.

68 Arif and Kurniawan (2018), p 83.

69 Imanuddin Razak (14 June 2023) ‘Indonesian Government Auctions Gas Field in East Natuna’ https://indonesiabusinesspost.com/uncategories/indonesian-government-auctions-gas-field-in-east-natuna/

70 Sodik (n 43).

71 World Directory of Modern Military Warships (16 September 2023) ‘Indonesian Navy’ https://www.wdmmw.org/indonesian-navy.php.

72 Puspitawati et al (2020) 17(4), p 498.

73 Act 32 of 2014 concerning Law of the Sea.

74 Fauzan, Abdullah and Ahmad (n 39).

75 Purwanto and Mangku (2016) p 53.

76 Article 193 of UNCLOS (n 8).

77 Article 192 of of UNCLOS.

78 Nugraha, Febrian and Chen (2021) p 202.

79 Nugraha, Febrian and Chen (n 74) p 203.

80 Martyr-Koller et al (2021), p 246.

81 Warren and Steenbergen (2021), p 3.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adrian Nugraha

Adrian Nugraha is a lecturer at Faculty of Law Sriwijaya University, Palembang, Indonesia.

Robert Lihtorng Chen

Robert Lihtorng Chen is a professor at Institute of the Law of the Sea, College of Ocean Law and Policy, National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan.