The Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) is an archipelagic country that has the characteristics of an archipelago by having sovereignty over its territory and having sovereign rights outside its sovereign territory to be managed and utilized as much as possible for the welfare and prosperity of all Indonesian people as mandated by the constitution.
This advantage that Indonesia has must be exploited and used for the greatest benefit of the Indonesian people, not just for a few people or companies that only use it.
Indonesia is mentioned as an archipelagic country based on the 1982 International Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS 1982 (United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea), if we refer to Chapter IV concerning Archipelagic States in Article 46, it is stated that an archipelagic state is a country that consists entirely of one or more islands and can include other islands, while what is called an archipelago is a group of islands, including parts of the island, waters between them and other natural features whose relationship to each other is so close that the islands, waters, and other natural features constitute an essential geographical, economic and political unity, or which have historically been considered as such.
Referring to statutory regulations, namely Law Number 43 of 2008 concerning State Territory, in Article 1 paragraph (1) it is stated that State Territory is one of the elements of the state which is a unified land area, inland waters, archipelagic waters and territorial seas. along with the seabed and land below it, as well as the air space above it, including all the sources of wealth contained therein. Indonesia’s territory is very wide from Sabang to Merauke, to guard and maintain this sovereignty requires quite a lot of manpower and institutions that are able to provide a sense of security and comfort.
As the largest archipelagic country in the world, Indonesia has land and sea borders with 10 (ten) neighboring countries, namely India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Australia, Timor Leste. If we explain it in detail, Indonesia shares land borders with Malaysia, PGN, and Timor Leste, while the next one borders the sea.
Indonesia has a very large territory, of course, it requires extra supervision and huge costs, as well as qualified facilities and infrastructure. If we look at the history of the founding of this country, Indonesia is relatively new in managing its border areas. This shows that Indonesia only has an institution that specifically handles border issues because previously it was only managed under the relevant ministries.
It is very important for the Indonesian government to manage state borders so that we know the extent of our sovereignty and jurisdiction and to avoid conflicts and disputes with countries that border other countries. Seeing this urgency, the Indonesian Government finally formed a special body to handle this matter, called the National Border Management Agency (BNPP). The legal basis for the formation of this agency is Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 12 of 2010 concerning the National Border Management Agency. The formation of BNPP is a follow-up to Law No. 43 of 2008 concerning state territory which mandates that to manage state territorial boundaries and manage border areas at the central and regional levels, the central government and regional governments form a National Management Agency and a Regional Management Agency.
With the formation of BNPP, we hope that this body will have the ability to not only manage Indonesia’s borders with neighboring countries but also be able to resolve the problems and disputes currently being faced by the Indonesian people who live on the borders. Until now, the Indonesian nation still has several border problems, one of which is with Timor Leste.
Based on research conducted by Ganewati Wuryandari from LIPI Jakarta, it is stated that Indonesia and Timor Leste still have 4% land borders that have not been agreed upon by the two countries according to the National Border Management Agency (BNPP), the two countries are still disputing 3 (three) border segments, namely (a) segment in Noel Besi-Citrana, North Netemnanu Village, East Amfoang, Kupang Regency, with area enclave Oecussi, Timor Leste, concerns rice fields along the Noel Besi River, where the land status is still a neutral zone. (b) segment in Bidjael Sunan, Oben, in North Central Timor Regency (TTU) with area enclave Oecussi, namely in an area of 489 plots of land along 2.6 km or 142.7 ha. This land is sterilized land so as not to cause problems because Indonesia and Timor Leste claim it as their own. (c) the segment in Dilumil-Memo, Belu Regency which borders the Bobonaro District, namely differences in identification of the Median Mota Malibaka in the river flow along 2.2 km or in an area of 41.9 ha.
Border management between the two countries and the problems faced by Indonesia and Timor Leste have existed since the BNPP was not yet formed, so the management and resolution are carried out partially where the two countries have formed a joint committee which has the authority to manage the border arrangements between Indonesia and Timor Leste in which at the central level is regulated throughout Border Committee (JBC) and order Liasion Committee (BLC) at the provincial level. The JBC, which consists of several technical sub-committees, is chaired by the Director General of General Government, Ministry of Home Affairs, while the BLC for the Indonesian and Timor Leste borders is chaired by the Governor of NTT. For example, likeTechnical Sub Committee on Border Security Indonesia – Timor Leste is the responsibility of the Department of Defense and the TNI Commander andTechnical Sub Committee on Border Demarcation and Regulation Indonesia – Timor Lesteimplemented and is the responsibility of Bakosurtanal and the TNI.
The cases above are only part of the management and problems that Indonesia is currently facing with neighboring countries on the border and to date these problems have not been resolved. If we look at the duties of BNPP, it that BNPP has the task of establishing border development program policies, determining budget needs plans, coordinating implementation, and carrying out evaluations and supervision of the management of National Borders and Border Areas, this has been stated in Article 3 of the Presidential Regulation (Perpres ) Number 12 of 2010.
Law Number 43 of 2008 and Presidential Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 44 of 2017 concerning Amendments to Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2010 concerning BNPP as the basis for the formation of BNPP indeed provide limited authority to planning, coordination, and evaluation only. In other words, BNPP does not directly execute the programs that have been determined, and BNPP is constrained by a relative budget. Besides that, BNPP does not have the power to decide on the problems currently being faced between Indonesia and other countries regarding border management.
So the management of state territories and border areas owned by BNPP does not have sufficient position, authority, duties, and functions in managing territories and border areas with Timor Leste. Strategic steps based on positive legal provisions to overcome this weakness can be carried out by establishing an institution that has a position, authority, duties, and functions that are different from the position, authority, and duties and functions of BNPP. The external authority, position, duties, and functions of border management between Indonesia and Timor Leste are state institutions that specifically handle the country’s territory and border areas.
If BNPP’s role is still limited to coordination without being given the authority to execute, BNPP will only carry out routines without taking action, of course, this must be considered together considering that the problems at the border are increasing day by day. *
Writer: Dr. Dewa Gede Sudika Mangku, S.H., LL.M
Lecturer in Legal Studies, Ganesha Singaraja University of Education
