REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON -- Indonesia's defense spending could grow to 20 billion USD a year by 2019 to protect its sovereignty, including an area of the South China Sea near China's claims, an adviser to new Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday.

Luhut Panjaitan, a former commander of Indonesia's special forces, said Jakarta had no plans to use force to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea and would continue to promote dialogue between Beijing and its regional rivals.

But he said it was important to strengthen the Indonesian military to protect national interests, including Natuna - a scattering of 157 mostly uninhabited islands off the northwest coast of Borneo that are rich in oil, gas and fish.

Officially, China and Indonesia agree the islands are part of Indonesia's Riau Province. But in April, Indonesia's armed forces chief accused China of including parts of Natuna within its so-called "Nine-Dash Line," a vague boundary used on Chinese maps to lay claim to about 90 percent of the South China Sea, including territory claimed by other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.