Indonesia is the largest archipelagic state in the world. Its vast maritime area of 5.8 million square kilometres consists of 0.3 million square kilometres of territorial sea, 2.8 million square kilometres of archipelagic waters and 2.7 million square kilometres of exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The country occupies a particularly important strategic location at the crossroads of two great oceans, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and two great continents, Asia and Australia. It links Europe, the Middle East and Africa with the world economic powerhouses in Asia. Indonesia is also the home of three major maritime ‘choke’ points: the Malacca and Singapore straits, the Sunda Strait and the Lombok Strait. These are not international straits, but straits under national sovereignty used for international navigation supporting the transportation of high-value commodities such as oil, gas and industrial goods. They also serve as strategic routes for military vessels of countries with blue water navies.

For Indonesia, territorial and boundary issues, whether on land, at sea or even in the air, have always been a matter of national priority. In dealings with neighbouring countries, border issues have consistently been high on the agenda since Indonesia became an independent nation in 1945. In terms of national cohesiveness, one of the most pressing territorial and border matters was the existence of high seas between Indonesia's islands, making Indonesia a collection of island enclaves in the midst of the high seas rather than an island nation unified by the sea.

THE JUANDA DECLARAT ION AND INDONESIA's BASELINES

To achieve its ideal of a nation unified, rather than separated, by the sea, on 13 December 1957 the Indonesian government under Prime Minister Juanda proclaimed that all waters between the islands of Indonesia came under Indonesian sovereignty. The Juanda Declaration, as it came to be known, was a challenge to the law of the sea as it was then applied. The concept of the archipelagic state as a fundamental principle of international law only gained international acceptance with the adoption and entry into force of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Through this convention, Indonesia gained legal recognition of its status as a archipelagic state. The formal acknowledgment that it exercised sovereignty over the waters between its islands proved a powerful unifying force, binding the Indonesian nation and state.