Japan to Boost Support for Remote Indonesian Islands

Natuna, Indonesia, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)--Japan has been beefing up its fishery-related aid to Indonesia's remote Natuna Islands in the southern part of the South China Sea, likely in hopes of curbing China's influence in the area.

Indonesia's exclusive economic zone around the islands partially overlaps with the waters surrounded by the "nine dash line" unilaterally claimed by China, a contentious maritime boundary that encompasses most of the South China Sea.

Tokyo, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, plans to provide aid for the development of a fish market in Ranai, the central city of Bunguran Island, the largest of the Natuna Islands.

Hadi Suryanto, who heads the local fisheries department, said residents of the island are eagerly awaiting the new market, saying that the existing one is too small and has inadequate drainage facilities.

The Japanese government-held agency plans to provide about 88 billion Indonesian rupiah, or about 800 million yen, in grant aid for the envisaged fish market. The project, aimed at revitalizing the local economy, envisions the establishment of a market equipped with a wharf, cold-storage facilities and ice-making equipment in about a year.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]