VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have rejected as baseless a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea and which Beijing said on Thursday should be viewed rationally and objectively.

China released the map on Monday of its famous U-shaped line covering about 90% of the South China Sea, a source of many of the disputes in one of the world's most contested waterways, where more than $3 trillion of trade passes each year.

The Philippines called on China on Thursday "to act responsibly and abide by its obligations" under international law and a 2016 arbitral ruling that had declared the line had no legal grounds.

Malaysia said it had filed a diplomatic protest over the map.

China says the line is based on its historic maps. It was not immediately clear whether the latest map denotes any new claim to territory.

China's U-shaped line loops as far as 1,500 km (932 miles) south of its Hainan island and cuts into the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

"This latest attempt to legitimise China's purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones has no basis under international law," the Philippine Foreign Ministry said.

Its Malaysian counterpart in a statement said the new map holds no binding authority over Malaysia, which "also views the South China Sea as a complex and sensitive matter".

The map was different to a narrower version submitted by China to the United Nations in 2009 of the South China Sea that included its so-called "nine-dash line".

The latest map was of a broader geographical area and had a line with 10 dashes that included democratically governed Taiwan, similar to a 1948 map of China. China also published a map with a 10th dash in 2013.

Asked about the latest map, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jeff Liu said Taiwan was "absolutely not a part of the People's Republic of China".

"No matter how the Chinese government twists its position on Taiwan's sovereignty, it cannot change the objective fact of our country's existence," he told a press briefing.

China is currently having a "national map awareness publicity week", state broadcaster China Central Television reported on Tuesday.

Asked why China had released the latest map with 10 dashes compared to one with nine dashes, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Beijing had been unambiguous about its territory.

"China's position on the South China Sea issue has always been clear. The competent authorities of China regularly update and release various types of standard maps every year," he told a regular briefing.

"We hope that relevant parties can view this in an objective and rational manner."

Late on Thursday, Vietnam's foreign ministry said China's claims based on the map have no value and violate Vietnamese and international laws.

Vietnam "resolutely rejects any claims in the East Sea by China that are based on the dashed line," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said in a statement, referring to the South China Sea.

Separately, Hang said Vietnamese authorities are seeking to clarify an allegation by Vietnamese fishermen that a Chinese vessel attacked their fishing boat with water canon earlier this week in the South China Sea, injuring two of them.

"Vietnam opposes the use of force against Vietnamese fishing boats operating normally at sea," she said in a statement sent to Reuters.

India said on Tuesday said it had lodged a strong protest with China over a new map that lays claim to India's territory, the latest irritant in testy ties between the Asian giants. (Reuters)

VOInews, Jakarta: Indonesia recorded a doubling of trade value in the last five years, reaching USD2 billion (Rp30.4 trillion), making Mexico the second largest export destination in the Americas.

"Mexico is Indonesia's strategic partner in the Americas region," Director General of the Americas and Europe (Amerop) of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Umar Hadi said, as quoted from the Ministry's website, on Wednesday (30/08/2023).

To further intensify economic cooperation, the delegations of the two countries, led by Director General of Amerop of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Umar Hadi and Director General of Asia Pacific of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fernando Gonzalez Saiffe, welcomed the completion of the establishment of three cooperation agreements.

"The cooperation includes Halal Product Guarantee cooperation between the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development, cooperation between the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) and the Mexican Chamber of Commerce (COMCE) and cooperation between the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) and the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce (USMCOC)," the ministry wrote.

In addition, Indonesia and Mexico also agreed to promote closer cooperation in the fields of trade and investment as well as people to people contacts including in the education sector, tourism, and exchange of lecturers and students. While in the global scope, the two delegations discussed cooperation in international forums, including the UN, G20, MIKTA, and ASEAN.

"Mexico specifically supports Indonesia's chairmanship of ASEAN and MIKTA in 2023, continuing the success of Indonesia's presidency of the G20 in the previous year," the ministry continued.

Mexico is a strategic partner for Indonesia in the Americas region. In addition, for Indonesia, Mexico is the 5th largest trading partner, 2nd largest export destination, and 2nd largest contributor to trade surplus in the entire Americas region. (VOI/Ranov)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia is focusing on increasing trade, especially exports, with the ASEAN region, which has a market of more than 600 million people, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan has said.

"ASEAN has a big market, (namely) 600 million population...we are trying to focus on ASEAN first," he noted after visiting Shopee's Export Warehouse here on Wednesday.

ASEAN has a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) or free trade agreement that involves 10 member countries, he added.

"Later, our trade direction will be like the EU. Yes, it will be tariff-free; later, customs will use electronic (means), then later all data will be able to use digital (means)," he informed.

The minister said that ASEAN will unite in terms of trade. According to him, trade agreements are a fast route to stoking economic growth in countries in the region.

He said that one of the things that can encourage exports of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is the presence of digital marketplaces where buyers from various countries can see products through the storefronts of sellers.

Those digital marketplaces can open broader market access to sellers. They can allow MSMEs to market their products not only to buyers within the country, but also abroad.

"The market access is not only in West Java, not only in Solo. Thus, it can reach Malaysia, Thailand, and even the Middle East with the current e-commerce system," the minister said.

Earlier, on the sidelines of the 55th ASEAN Economic Ministers' (AEM) Meeting, Hasan signed four mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) aimed at harmonizing trade regulations between Southeast Asian countries to reduce obstacles to exports and imports.

One of the MRAs is the Protocol to Amend the ASEAN Sectoral Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Inspection of Manufacturers of Medicinal Products.

The MRA serves as mutual recognition for manufacturing and medicinal products in ASEAN. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Minister of National Development Planning and Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Suharso Monoarfa, said on Wednesday that his ministry proposes a presidential instruction on climate change.

"We want to propose a presidential instruction on climate change as, according to our study, many islands are threatened with erosion, and we do not know which islands will be lost in the next 100 years," he stated during a meeting with the House of Representatives.

For instance, Gili Trawangan Island in West Nusa Tenggara has been affected by climate change, he highlighted.

He informed that the island is getting abraded by four meters per year, and the local community has been planting cypress trees to slow the beach erosion.

"I say it is not (cypress trees), but it should be mangroves. The (local) community is not aware of the function of mangroves. The community has a gap in knowledge of their environment," Monoarfa said.

Another example, the reclamation project in Teluk Benoa Bay in Bali, he added. Bappenas has warned that the project will alter sea current patterns, leading to potential impacts on the marine ecosystem in the area.

"The impact (of the reclamation project) is now evident," the minister noted.

During the meeting, he said that his ministry is preparing a new presidential instruction for 2024 on clean water.

The draft presidential instruction aims to address clean water problems that regional stakeholders are unlikely to resolve.

"We are drafting a presidential instruction on clean water. We hope that Mr. President will respond well to it," he said.

Earlier, Monoarfa informed that the 2025–2045 National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPN) stipulates the target of achieving resilience against disasters and climate change in order to lay the foundation for climate-resilient development. (Antaranews)