By Distinguished Professor Stuart Kaye*
(This article was first published in the Australian Naval Review, 2020, Issue 1, in June 2020.)
Introduction
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world, and this fact has dominated Indonesia’s approach to the law of the sea since its independence after World War II. The concept of archipelagic waters, as it presently exists with the Law of the Sea Convention[1], was the result of Indonesian diplomatic effort, in conjunction with heavy international support from the Philippines. The concept of the archipelago, incorporating land and adjoining water as part of the national sovereignty, is a core Indonesian belief, with its own term: Wawasan Nusantara.
