Indonesian Coast Guard Kicks Out Chinese Ship in Disputed Waters

Recently, Indonesia's coast guard chased away a Chinese ship that was bothering one of their survey vessels in a disputed area of the South China Sea. This isn't the first time this has happened in just a few days. The Chinese ship, called the CCG 5402, kept trying to get close to the Indonesian vessel, called the MV Geo Coral, while it was doing some important work. This work was to find out information about the seabed and was being done by Indonesia's state energy company. The problem is that both China and Indonesia claim the same area of the sea. China uses something called the "nine-dash line" to show where it thinks its border is, but Indonesia doesn't agree with this. Indonesia says this area is part of its own special zone, called the North Natuna Sea.

The first time the Chinese ship came close was on Monday. The Indonesian coast guard talked to them and told them to leave, but the Chinese ship crews said they thought they had the right to be there. The Indonesian ships had to push the Chinese ship away. On Thursday morning, the Chinese ship came back again. This time, it didn't even answer the Indonesian coast guard's calls. So, the Indonesian ships had to make the Chinese ship leave again. Indonesia's Maritime Security Agency says they won't stop watching the area to make sure the survey can happen and that their rights are protected. Experts say that China has been making and putting weapons on islands in the South China Sea. This has made things tense with other countries, like the Philippines and Vietnam. China says it has the right to be there because of fishing traditions. But an international court ruled against most of China's claims in 2016. China didn't listen to the court's decision.

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