Analyst Heydarian's take on Indonesia-China dispute on Natuna Islands

Indonesia is taking a tough stance against China, as it rejected the latter's claim to sail near the Natuna Islands by citing not only the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ruling and international law, but also the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in favor of the Philippines.

This was what GMA Network's resident analyst Richard Heydarian explained in a Stand for Truth (SFT) episode on Friday evening.

He noted that it was "very ironic" for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to set aside the 2016 arbitration ruling when other countries like Indonesia were using it to invalidate China's claims.

The Natuna Islands, as well as the waters surrounding them, are part of Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Recently, a Chinese coast guard vessel trespassed the northern coast of the Natuna Islands, which caused Indonesia to issue a strong protest and summon the Chinese Ambassador in Jakarta.

"The bigger picture is that, hindi lang Indonesia ang nagppush back. Over the past few months, we saw other ASEAN countries also pushing back...Malaysia also submitted their extended continental shelf...At the Malaysian position is, dapat gamitin niyo UNCLOS and int'l law to assert your sovereign rights," Heydarian said.

Watch this Stand for Truth report to know more about the analyst's insights on how other ASEAN countries are using the 2016 arbitration ruling award against China. —Angelica Yang/LDF, GMA News