The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport train.  (ANTARA)

The railway of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport located in Tengerang, Banten Province, resumed operations and served passengers starting Saturday after its operations were stopped due to major flooding affecting Jakarta and Banten.

The train speed, however, remained limited with a one-hour headway, Diah Suryandari, Public Relations Officer of PT Railink, said in a statement in Jakarta.

Adjusting travel time would be 57 minutes for the Manggarai Station - Soekarno Hatta Airport Station route and 67 minutes for the Soekarno Hatta Airport Station - Manggarai Station.

"This is due to the inspection of the railroad track which was affected by the floods and ongoing repairs," she said.

The departure of the Airport Train starts at 4:40 a.m. local time, for the Manggarai Station - BNI City Station - Duri Station - Batu Ceper Station - Soekarno Hatta Airport Station, while for the opposite routes, notably the Soekarno Hatta Airport Station - Batu Ceper Station - Duri Station - BNI City Station - Manggarai Station, it departs starting at 6:10 a.m. local time.

The airport railroad operations would be adjusted to condition on the ground, she remarked.

"Of course we hope that the Airport Train can immediately serve passengers with normal condition again, with a 30 minute headway and shorter travel time," she added.

Airport train ticket purchases can be made online through several channel options, such as the Railink Application, Web reservation, Traveloka, Bukalapak, and KAI Access as well as offline through vending machines and Point of Sales (POS) at each station.

PT Railink urges airplane passengers to pay attention to schedules and travel times to avoid possible delays.

The airport's train travel itinerary information can be accessed on www.railink.co.id or social media Instagram @kabandararailink, facebook @kabandararailink and twitter @RailinkARS.(ANTARA)

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD(ANTARA)

Indonesia will defend its sovereignty and will not negotiate with China in connection with the issues of Natuna waters, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD said.

Referring to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the waters near the Natuna Islands belong to Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) rights so that this matter need not bilaterally be negotiated, he said here on Sunday.

Speaking to journalists after attending the commemoration of Brawijaya University's 57th anniversary, he said the Natuna waters definitely belongs to Indonesia so that a negotiation is not needed.

If the Indonesian Government puts this matter on the negotiation table, it means that Jakarta indirectly admits that there is a dispute between the two countries regarding the Natuna waters, he added.

Regarding the recent violations of Chinese coast guard vessels in the Indonesian EEZ near the Natuna waters, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry has lodged a diplomatic protest by summoning China's ambassador in Jakarta.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has proposed the purchase of ocean going vessels to strengthen Indonesia's capability of safeguarding its territorial waters and EEZ rights from the violations of foreign ships.

"I have propose the purchase of these ocean going vessels. We have never possessed such  ships since the existence of this Republic," he told journalists following his meeting with Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto on Friday.

Pandjaitan proposed the purchase of those ocean going ships amid the recent violations of Chinese coast guard vessels escorting tens of Chinese fishing boats to poach on Indonesia's EEZ near the Natuna waters on Dec 19 and Dec 24, 2019.

Pandjaitan further said the government has agreed to have more patrol vessels to secure the country's maritime boundary, and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto is willing to purchase the 138 up to 140-meter-long frigates.

In response to this China's recent violations in the Indonesian EEZ, the University of Indonesia's international law expert, Hikmahanto Juwana, told ANTARA that Indonesia rejects China's claim of having traditional fishing rights on the North Natuna Sea.

According to Juwana, the Indonesian Government must have one voice in addressing this issue as represented by Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi. At the same time, the government need also intensify regular patrols on the North Natuna Sea, and enforce law against the violations of foreign vessels.

"Our intensive patrols are also aimed at protecting our fishermen's fishing boats from being disturbed by the Chinese coast guard vessels," he said, adding that a negotiation with China regarding the issues of North Natuna Sea is totally unnecessary.

Over these past three years, the Chinese coast guard vessels have repeatedly violated Indonesia's EEZ rights.

In March 2016, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi had also lodged a protest with the Chinese Charge d'affaires in Jakarta Sun Weide over Chinese coast guard violations in the Indonesian waters. (ANTARA)

 Indonesia is firmly strengthening its maritime patrol in Natuna waters, Riau Islands Province, to expel China’s fishing boats which illegally operated over the territory, as Mahfud MD, the Minister of Coordinating Politics, Law and Security remarked.

“The patrol will be strengthened. Our vessels currently operating in other regions will be mobilized there to drive them out,” Mahfud said in Malang, East Java, Sunday.

Safeguarded by the Chinese coast guard vessels, Chinese fishing boats have repeatedly trespassed into Indonesia's economic exclusive zone near the Natuna Islands for poaching. The Indonesian foreign ministry has lodged a strong protest over China's recent violation.

The Indonesian naval ships have already been prepared to secure the country's sovereignty though Mahfud noted that the measures taken were not meant to engage a war with China.

“We are not setting a war, but we are driving them out to protect our own areas,” Mahfud said.

The Chinese Government unilaterally claims the Natuna waters as its own by declaring a Nine Dash Line. Indonesia has never recognised this China's claim.

The Nine Dash Line is made by China based on its historical maritime rights. As a result, China claims that the region of South China Sea region which extends around two million kilometers from the land of China to hundreds of kilometers from the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam belongs to it.

“China declares that the region is their traditional rights since their fishermen are going there for thousands of years. But what is the principle of that, and what things to prove?,” Mahfud questioned.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, the Natuna waters belong to Indonesia’s economic exclusive zone that China, whatsoever, has no rights over the region.

The Indonesian Government affirms that there is no room for negotiating the issues of Indonesian EEZ near the Natuna Islands as Indonesia will always uphold the UNCLOS 1982. (ANTARA)

The Immigration Office in Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands Province, deported 50 foreign nationals last year for being involved in a number of legal cases including drug abuse and illegal fishing.

The figure dropped drastically from 186 a year earlier, Chief of the Tanjungpinang Immigration Office Hongky Juanda said on Saturday.

Most of the deportees were Vietnamese nationals involved in illegal fishing, he said.

"Before being deported to their country, they had served their jail terms in accordance with the Tanjungpinang District Court's verdicts," Hongky said.

The immigration office also denied entry to 70 foreign nationals last year, increasing significantly from 27 the year before, he said..

They were denied entry to the capital of Riau Islands Province because they demonstrated behavior which is against local norms, he said.

Some of them arrived in Pangkalpinang while they got drunk or had other purposes than the objectives of their visits to the province, he said.

"They wanted to go on vacation. But after we checked them, they had other purposes so they were denied entry," he said.

The immigration office will always try to tighten surveillance of foreign nationals staying in Tanjungpinang, he said.

"We are very selective. Foreign nationals traveling (to Riau Islands) must benefit the state. If they harm us, then why we will receive them," he said. (ANTARA)