Indonesia – Vietnam Maritime Boundary: Problems and Prospects of Settlement

There is no agreement regarding the maritime boundaries of the two countries, so that friction in the sea area often occurs, even if you look at the existing data for the period October 2014 to May 2019 there are 294 or about 57 percent of the ships destroyed by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries are violating vessels, the Vietnamese flag. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development of negotiations on maritime boundaries between Indonesia and neighboring countries and the prospects for solving the maritime boundary problem between Indonesia and Vietnam. This type of research is normative using a statutory approach and a conceptual approach. The data used is secondary data obtained through library research. All data collected were then analyzed qualitatively. The results showed that the development of negotiations for maritime boundaries between Indonesia and neighboring countries began between Indonesia and Malaysia, followed by Indonesia-Singapore, Indonesia-Papua New Guinea, Indonesia-Australia, Indonesia-India, while the conflict in Natuna waters occurred because there was no agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam regarding the EEZ region of each country. Indonesia started discussing the EEZ boundary with Vietnam in 2010. From 2010 to 2016, negotiations on the determination of maritime boundaries between Indonesia and Vietnam have been held eight times. The two negotiators have agreed on several principles, the first is based on the International Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), although each country still requires technical, juridical and political considerations.