Abstract
As an arena of hegemonic war between China and the United States of America (USA), Indo-Pacific has economic value that can increase conflict in the region. This hegemonic war then cultivated rapidly, as evidenced by the expanded issue through the involvement of other countries such as France, Germany, and England. This research basically examined the actions of Indonesia as a non-claimant country in conducting defense strategy to prevent threats that can disrupt its territory, especially in the North Natuna Sea which is adjacent to the South China Sea as the main theater of this hegemonic war in Indo-Pacific. This study was analysed using qualitative method, descriptive analysis and neorealism perspective. As an effort to maintain territorial sovereignty, especially in the North Natuna Sea which is close to South China Sea, Indonesia had done several defense strategies which can be categorized as internal and external balancing. Internal balancing consists of relocation process of fishermen from North Coast of Java to Natuna, increasing trend of defense budget and particular allocation for the security of North Natuna Sea, and execution of combat exercise. External balancing includes cooperation of joint exercises and national defense industry quality improvement through transfer of technology and knowledge, joint development, as well as acquisitions.
Highlights
Indo-Pacific is a marine bio-geographical area that includes the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the Western and Central Pacific Oceans, as well as the Indonesian and Philippine Seas
CHALLENGES IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AND INDONESIA’S DEFENSE STRATEGY From the cases that occurred in the Indo-Pacific, it can be concluded that Indonesia faces threats in the form of Chinese assertive claims and actions in the South China Sea, and the ambitions of United States of America (USA), Britain, Germany, and France to demonstrate their existence in disputed areas using Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) strategy with the assumption that the South China Sea is an international water (CNN Indonesia, 2020)
North Natuna Sea, as an area which is close to South China Sea as main theater of conflict in Indo-Pacific has been being under threat which is performed by either China and USA
Summary
Indo-Pacific is a marine bio-geographical area that includes the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the Western and Central Pacific Oceans, as well as the Indonesian and Philippine Seas. The Indo-Pacific is a fighting showground for geopolitical interests because of its strategic values, since the region is known as the centre of 2/3 of the world's economic and trade powers where countries with the largest military budgets in the world such as United States, China, India, Japan, South Korea exist The South China Sea as one of the areas in the Indo-Pacific is one of the busiest international trade routes with a value of USD 3.37 trillion (Council on Foreign Relations, 2020), which is passed by 50 percent of the world's tankers for shipping oil. With an area of 3.5 million km, the South China Sea is estimated to have oil reserves of 11 billion barrels (bbl), natural gas of 190 trillion cubic meters, and hydrocarbon reserves of 105 billion bbl (Xu, 2014)
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