The Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Vietnam, The Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei

A TENSE stand-off is developing between Jakarta and Beijing in the South China Sea — with coast guard vessels from both nations clashing over an illegal fishing vessel.

The Jakarta Globe reports Indonesian coast guard officers boarded a Chinese-owned fishing vessel operating 4.34km off Natuna islands — well within Jakarta’s established exclusive economic zone.

Eight crew of Kway Fey 10078 were arrested, but then a Chinese coast guard vessel allegedly began ramming the fishing boat back into international waters.

Indonesia did not directly react to the provocation, but has expressed outrage — and summoned the Chinese ambassador to explain its actions.

“We will summon the Chinese ambassador to discuss the issue,” the Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Susi Pudjiastuti told media overnight. “Because in the process of capturing the ship, a standoff occurred.

“We respect China, but we must also maintain our sovereignty.”

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Pudjiastuti said she believed the Chinese coastguards stopped the boat from being towed away to prevent it from being sunk.

Beijing has responded by declaring the area where the incident occurred to be “a traditional Chinese fishing ground”.

“The Chinese fishing vessel was conducting its regular operation when chased by an armed Indonesian vessel,” Jakarta embassy spokesman Xu Hangtian said in a statement. “It is hoped that the Indonesian side could properly handle this issue, taking into consideration the overall picture of our bilateral relations.”

Beijing has previously voiced concern after Indonesia destroyed an impounded Chinese fishing vessel last year.

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Jakarta is yet to issue a formal response, but earlier Minister Pudjiastuti stated: “We want to avoid a much more serious incident, so we settled on just arresting the eight crew members. The ship got away but we have the eight men in custody to help us investigate this incident.”

Beijing’s increasingly aggressive claims on the natural resources held in the South China Sea comes on the back of its establishment of a series of man-made island bases deep within the contested waters.

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Large portions of the area, far from China’s mainland, are also claimed neighbouring nations such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia.

China asserts that it held possession of the waterway in antiquity, giving it the right to claim ownership. Neighbouring nations dispute this.

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Indonesia, while furthest from China, has previously protested against China’s ‘Nine Dash Line’ — a map it uses to justify its claims to the whole of the South China Sea — as it overlaps the rich fisheries of the Natuna islands.