REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesia would protest China since the country included South China Sea on a map printed in its revised passports, Minister for Foreign Affairs Marty Natalegawa said. Indonesia considers the measure was part of China’s strategy over the claim.
"We will state our position to China that we cannot recognize the inclusion in the passports," Natalegawa said on Wednesday.
However, the owners of Chinese passports can still enter Indonesian territory. "Yet, it does not mean that Indonesia recognizes China's territory claim," he said. He added that the depiction of South China Sean in the passports could provoke other countries in South East Asia.
The Philippines and Vietnam condemned Chinese passports containing a map of China's disputed maritime claims on Thursday, branding the new design passport as a violation of their sovereignties. Soutth China Sea is claimed by China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.