Dinamika Penegakan Hukum di Wilayah Sengketa pada Laut Cina Timur dan Relevansinya bagi TNI Angkatan Laut

Abstract

Law enforcement in disputed maritime areas creates high complexity due to overlapping disclosures and ambiguous interpretations of international legal provisions. This study aims to analyze the maritime dynamics in the East China Sea (ECS) between Japan, China, and Taiwan and identify learning strategies that can be optimized by the Indonesian Navy in maintaining the stability of Indonesian maritime security. Using qualitative research methods through a comparative case study approach and legal doctrine analysis, this article demonstrates the effectiveness of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), particularly the provisional obligations under Articles 74(3) and 83(3). The results show that the ECS battle is not only a territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands but has shifted to the use of gray zone tactics through the deployment of armed civilian coast guard fleets. For Indonesia, the ECS dynamics provide important lessons regarding the crucial importance of thoroughly resolving maritime boundary delimitation with neighboring countries to avoid gray areas in law enforcement. Furthermore, this pressing strategic pressure necessitates strengthening integrative operational synergy between the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) as a military deterrent (grey hull) and Bakamla (Lakamla) as a civilian law enforcement agency (white hull), supported by modernized real-time maritime intelligence technology and active defense diplomacy to fortify national waters such as the North Natuna Sea.