Indonesian Navy deployed warship to North Natuna Sea to observe a Chinese language coast guard vessel that has been lively in a resource-rich maritime space of an space that each international locations declare as their very own. Ship monitoring knowledge reveals the vessel, Zhaotou-class patrol cutter CCG 5901, has been crusing within the Natuna Sea, significantly close to the Tuna Bloc fuel subject and the Vietnamese Chim Sao oil and fuel subject since December 30. The Indonesian information journal Tempo reported that warship, maritime patrol plane and drone had been deployed to observe the vessel, Laksamana Muhammad Ali, the chief of the Indonesian navy, informed Reuters.
The Chinese language coast guard exercise comes after an unique financial zone (EEZ) settlement between Indonesia and Vietnam, and approval from Indonesia to develop the Tuna fuel subject within the Natuna Sea, with a complete estimated funding of greater than $3 billion upto the beginning of manufacturing. The United Nations Conference on the Regulation of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides vessels navigation rights by means of an EEZ. China rejects this, saying the maritime space is inside its expansive territorial declare within the South China Sea marked by a U-shaped “nine-dash line,” a boundary the Everlasting Court docket of Arbitration within the Hague discovered to haven’t any authorized foundation in 2016.
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In July 2017, Indonesia renamed the northern reaches of its unique financial zone within the South China Sea because the “North Natuna Sea”, which is positioned north of the Indonesian Natuna Regency, bordering southern Vietnam’s unique financial zone. The North Natuna Sea is positioned between the Natuna Islands and Cape Cà Mau on the southern tip of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. In 2021, vessels from Indonesia and China shadowed one another for months close to a submersible oil rig that had been performing properly value determinations within the Tuna block. Pure fuel from the Tuna subject is deliberate to be exported to Vietnam beginning 2026 and will convey an revenue of US$ 1.24 billion a yr.
The Zhaotou-class patrol cutter CCG 5901 is the world’s largest coast guard vessel,surpassing the earlier file holder, the Japanese Coast Guard Shikishima class. The Zhaotou class is 165 metres (541 ft 4 in) in size, over 20 metres (65 ft 7 in) in beam, and has an empty displacement of 10,000 tons, with a full displacement of 12,000 tons. The Zhaotou class is armed with an H/PJ-26 76 mm naval gun, two 30 mm auxiliary weapons, and two anti-aircraft machine weapons. The ships can journey a prime pace of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) and a variety of over 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi). The ship has a helicopter platform and a hangar massive sufficient to accommodate bigger helicopter.
