Indonesia sends a warship to monitor the Chinese coast guard vessel.

On Saturday, the country’s naval chief said that Indonesia sent a warship to its North Natuna Sea to watch over a Chinese coast guard vessel operating in a resource-rich maritime region that both nations claim as their own.

The ship, CCG 5901, has been sailing in the Natuna Sea since December 30, particularly close to the Vietnamese Chim Sao oil and gas field and the Tuna Bloc gas field, according to ship tracking data, the Indonesian Ocean Justice Initiative told Reuters.

According to Laksamana Muhammad Ali, the head of the Indonesian navy, a warship, a maritime patrol plane, and a drone had been sent to monitor the vessel.

He claimed that “the Chinese vessel has not engaged in any suspicious activities.”But because it has been in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for a while, we need to keep an eye on it.

The Chinese embassy in Jakarta did not immediately have a spokesperson available for comment. Vessels are granted navigation rights through an EEZ under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The activity follows the signing of an EEZ agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam and Indonesia’s approval of the development of the Tuna gas field in the Natuna Sea, which is expected to cost more than $3 billion in total up until production begins.

In 2021, vessels from China and Indonesia spent months observing one another close to a submersible oil rig conducting well appraisals in the Tuna block.  China urged Indonesia to act at the time, claiming that the activities were taking place on its soil.