Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently on a tour of South-East Asian countries to strengthen his ‘Act East Policy’. In the first leg of his visit, he visited Brunei for two days. During this, both the countries emphasized on freedom of navigation and discussed increasing defense cooperation. In a joint statement issued after bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brunei’s Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, it was said that India and Brunei have expressed commitment to continue respecting the freedom of navigation and overflight under international law.
This was the first bilateral visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Brunei, which took place on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In view of this visit, the neighboring country China has become alert. However, there has been no response from Beijing. Actually, PM Modi has given a strong message to China in gestures on this visit. The PM said that India supports the policy of development, not expansionism. However, he did not name any country. Let us tell you that Brunei is located in the south of the South China Sea, on which Beijing has been claiming almost completely.
In recent times, there have been frequent confrontations between China and other countries including the Philippines, Japan and the US in the South China Sea. China is also having a secret confrontation with Brunei. Brunei is officially called Brunei Darussalam. It is located 7,486 KM away from India. It is located on the Borneo island bordering Malaysia, where a total of 3 countries are settled. One of these is Brunei. It is an Islamic country. The population here is around 4 lakhs.
China–Brunei bilateral relations
Brunei and Beijing have a long history of bilateral relations, dating back nearly 2,000 years. Brunei and China have had good relations since the Han Dynasty ruled China. During the rule of the Ming Dynasty in China, the mausoleum of Brunei Sultan Abdul Majid Hassan was built in Nanjing in the 15th century, but for the past few decades, relations between China and Brunei have not been very cordial due to the border dispute. In fact, Brunei has a 160-kilometer coastline which is a storehouse of oil and natural gas. China not only wants to dominate those areas but has also targeted Brunei due to its increasing military dominance in the China Sea.
China defines its border in the South China Sea using the so-called 9-dash line, which in recent years has become a 10-dash line. The fifth and sixth dash lines of China’s maritime boundary line extend within 35 nautical miles of Brunei’s waters, which are rich in oil and natural gas. Brunei objects to this.
The second major concern in the China-Brunei dispute is the character of the maritime area. Louisa Reef and Rifleman Bank are the geographical areas of Brunei which come under the Exclusive Economic Zone and approved by the United Nations. The UN allows Brunei to claim territorial rights up to 12 nautical miles and the right to an exclusive economic zone up to 200 nautical miles, but China objects to this. For this reason, Brunei has never claimed Louisa Reef and Rifleman Bank but has considered it as its own coastal part. There is also a dispute between China and Vietnam on both of these.
