Indonesia's National Interest and Perspective on Conflict in South China Sea

The dispute over ownership of the South China Sea has not ended until now. China claims to be the owner of most of the South China Sea. Likewise, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan claim to be the owners of the territory. On the other side, Indonesia has interests in areas directly adjacent to the South China Sea, namely the Natuna Islands. This study aimed to analyze Indonesia’s national interests and perspectives on the conflict in the South China Sea. Qualitative methods and concepts of Indonesia’s national interest and perspective were used to analyze this study. The results showed that in particular, there were two terms of Indonesia’s National Interest in the South China Sea, namely Vital (Survival) and Major interests. Moreover, Indonesia’s national interest was seen from two interrelated things, namely the dynamics that occur in the South China Sea dispute and the intersection in the North Natuna Sea. Furthermore, Indonesia’s perspective on conflict in South China Sea, the South China Sea conflict could also be viewed from two perspectives, namely in terms of soft power and hard power