THE government must be extra careful in handling the North Natuna Sea. The waters formerly known as the South China Sea is Southeast Asia’s ticking timebomb due to overlapping territorial claims by many countries including Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and China among others, since the 70s.

Now, China has infringed on Indonesia’s sovereign rights. Between August and October this year, Haiyang Dizhi 10, a 6,500 tonnage C...