In a written statement in Jakarta on Friday, the new history was marked by the decision of the International Maritime Organization Plenary Session (IMO) Sub-Committee of the 6th Navigation Communication and Search and Rescue (NCSR) on Friday (25/1), which approved and ratified the TSS in the Sunda Strait and Lombok Strait proposed by Indonesia. It will subsequently be adopted at the 101st IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) Meeting in June 2019.
Director General of Sea Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation R Agus H Purnomo said that previously, Indonesia and Malaysia and Singapore had TSS in the Malacca Strait.
However, the TSS in the Malacca Strait is a different arrangement considering that it is owned by three countries, while for the TSS in the Sunda Strait and Lombok Strait, only Indonesia has the authority to regulate it.
This makes Indonesia the first archipelagic country in the world to have TSS through endorsement by IMO and inside ALKI (Indonesian Archipelago Sea Channel) I and ALKI II.
As for Indonesia, along with Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Bahamas, and the Philippines, there are five sovereign countries stipulated in UNCLOS 1982 as a country that qualifies as an archipelagic country.
Related to ALKI, Director General Agus said that ALKI is a sea channel in Indonesian waters that is free to be navigated by international vessels (freedom to passage), as stated in UNCLOS 1982.
"So that with the trust of Indonesia by IMO to regulate TSS in the Sunda Strait and Lombok Strait which is also the ALKI, it shows Indonesia`s active role in the field of international shipping safety and security and strengthens Indonesia`s identity as the World Maritime Axis," he said.
Furthermore, he also said that Indonesia should be proud, because it did not necessarily mean that the TSS proposal in the Sunda Strait and Lombok Strait was immediately approved by IMO.
Reporting by Juwita Trisna Rahayu, Eliswan Azly
Editing by Suharto
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Suharto
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