Development and national security: Indonesia’s Natuna Island and the South China Sea issue

Yani Yang and Yizheng Zou

Third World Quarterly, 2024, vol. 45, issue 3, 493-512

Abstract: This article analyses the demands and interests of the Natuna Regency of Indonesia and interprets the disputes in the South China Sea from the perspective of local factors. Based on an analysis of numerous documents and reports, as well as field research trips to Natuna and online interviews with local government leaders, members of nongovernmental organisations and businesspeople, the study concludes that the securitisation of Natuna Regency, with its rich resources and special strategic position, has attracted great attention. The local government has no authority over the waters around Natuna, and while it can share a small portion of the profits made from local resources, it cannot promote local economic development or protect the rights of fisheries. The local government can only promote the policies of the central government in economic development and cooperate with the military to ensure the safety of the surrounding waters and local fishing vessels. The local government continues to actively petition the central government to designate Natuna-Anambas a special province to gain more management rights. The development demands of resource-rich areas drive local leaders to seek cooperation with the military and the international community, increasing the uncertainty of the situation in the South China Sea.

Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01436597.2023.2270507 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:45:y:2024:i:3:p:493-512

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/ctwq20

DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2023.2270507

Access Statistics for this article

Third World Quarterly is currently edited by Shahid Qadir

More articles in Third World Quarterly from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().