Militarising the Natuna Islands for Indonesia’s Gunboat Diplomacy
This paper examines the significance of Indonesia’s plan to militarize outer islands as a leverage for Indonesia’s gunboat diplomacy and deterrence effect in the South China Sea conflict. The South China Sea dispute involving China, several ASEAN member countries and the United States (US) has been highlighted to be the most intense maritime conflict in the last five years. In 2015, the Indonesian Defence White Paper perceived that the conflict poses potential threat to Indonesia’s outer…