VP Boediono leads Nusantara Day ceremony
Vice President Boediono asked Indonesians to strengthen the nation’s unity and integrity within the framework of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia by increasing defense capabilities.
He was speaking Tuesday when addressing the Nusantara Day ceremony held at the Agribusiness Terminal in Dumai, Riau,
Boediono was accompanied by, among others, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo, Transportation Minister EE Mangindaan, Education and Culture Minister M Nuh and Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi.
Also attending the event were the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Agus Suhartono, National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo, Riau Governor Rusli Zainal, Dumai Mayor Khairul Anwar and local councilors.
The Malaysian Navy, Singapore Armed Forces and Royal Thailand Navy also sent representatives to the ceremony.
Don't loook down!: Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel descend from a Navy helicopter to board a vessel during a counterterrorism exercise in Dumai, Riau, on Tuesday. The joint exercise between the Navy and Air Force was held in to coincide with Nusantara Day. (Antara/Viki Payoka)
“Nusantara Day should become the momentum for the national awakening toward the modernization of the main weapons systems for state defense,” Boediono told the ceremony as quoted by Antara.
He said that Nusantara Day was based on the Djuanda Declaration of Dec. 13, 1957 which marked the beginning of Indonesia being acknowledged as an archipelagic state. The declaration, named after Prime Minister Djuanda Kartawidjaja, states that waters between Indonesian islands should also be regarded as Indonesian territorial waters instead of the traditional 12-mile delimitation.
In 1982, the principle was then internationally acknowledged through the United Nations Convention on The Law of The Sea (UNCLOS)
Then President Soeharto introduced Dec. 13 as Nusantara Day which was then strengthened through a presidential decree in 2011.
The ceremony also included sail pass and fly pass involving dozens of Indonesians warships and jet fighters as well as civilian vessels. Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand also sent warships.
TNI soldiers also staged a counter-terrorism simulation to free a hijacked vessel on the open sea. (nvn)
