The Southeast Asian nation sparked reactions last month as it reached a "common understanding on joint development in areas of overlapping claims" in a joint statement with China made during President Prabowo Subianto's visit to Beijing.
The statement was widely seen as recognition of China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea, where Beijing has for years sought to expand its presence in the contested waters and brushed aside an international ruling that its claim to most of the waterway has no legal basis.
"Indonesia maintains a position that there is no appropriate international legal basis in the nine-dash line issue," Sugiono, who goes by one name, told lawmakers, referring to a line China has used on maps to demarcate its claims to almost the entirety of the strategic waterway.
"The main principle is that Mr. President directed that Indonesia would increase cooperation with neighbours for the national interest. On sovereignty, we do not shift from our position."
He said Jakarta and Beijing had yet to agree on the areas for joint development projects, adding that Indonesia had informed leaders of neighbouring countries of the plan "to reduce tension".
Beijing and Jakarta are key economic allies, with Chinese companies ploughing money into extracting Indonesian natural resources in recent years, particularly in the nickel sector.
But confrontations over what Indonesia says are Chinese incursions into its territorial waters have weighed on the trading partners' relationship in recent years.
In October, Indonesia said it drove a Chinese coast guard ship from contested waters in the South China Sea three times in a week.
Philippine president says Russian submarine 'worrisome'
Manila (AFP) Dec 2, 2024 -
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Monday described as "very worrisome" the presence of a Russian attack submarine off the country's coast in the disputed South China Sea.
The UFA 490 submarine was spotted 148 kilometres (92 miles) west of Cape Calavite on Thursday, the Philippine military said.
"Any intrusion into the West Philippine Sea, of our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), of our baselines is very worrisome," Marcos told reporters.
The Philippines dispatched a plane and a warship to the submarine, where the crew said they were awaiting good weather before proceeding to Russia's Vladivostok, the Philippine Navy said in a Monday statement.
Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesman for the navy in the South China Sea, said the incident is "not alarming".
"But we were surprised because this is a very unique submarine," he told AFP.
The 74-metre (243-foot) long vessel is armed with a missile system that has a range of 12,000 kilometres, according to Russia's state-run TASS news agency.
The submarine was last seen in Philippine waters on Sunday, Trinidad said.
Russia's embassy in Manila and the Philippine foreign ministry did not immediately respond to AFP requests to comment on the matter.
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