Chinese experts have criticized Indonesia's "violent law enforcement" against Chinese fishing boats based on its unilateral claim to a corner of the South China Sea for violating international laws.



Indonesia is determined to assert its exclusive rights to waters around the Natuna Islands, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Monday, adding that Indonesia would demand that Beijing respect the Southeast Asian nation's sovereignty over the waters, Reuters reported on Monday.



Kalla's comments come after Chinese fishing boats were harassed and fired on by several Indonesian navy warships in disputed fishing grounds in the South China Sea on Friday. One crew member was injured while another fishing boat and seven crew members were detained, according to China's Foreign Ministry.



Wang Xiaopeng, a maritime border expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the current Indonesian government has been taking relatively "extreme measures on safeguarding the country's fisheries and maritime interests."



"But the incident happened in waters that are Chinese fishermen's traditional fishing grounds and where China and Indonesia have overlapping claims for maritime rights and interests. Thus, Indonesia's so-called unilateral maritime law enforcement lacks the legal basis," Wang said.



Responding to the incident, Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Sunday that Indonesia violated international laws, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.



The spokesperson said China has urged Indonesia to stop taking actions that complicate and exaggerate the dispute, and to constructively handle the issue.