Indonesia is constantly pursuing to resolve territorial disputes in the disputed South China Sea, President Joko Widodo said during a state address on Tuesday ahead of Indonesia's 71^st Independence Day, Reuters reported.

"Indonesia continues to be actively involved in conflict resolution in the South China Sea through peaceful negotiations after," Widodo said. "We continue to push for peaceful resolutions to international conflicts."

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The mention of the South China Sea dispute in Widodo's national address underscores the importance that Indonesia attaches to the Natuna Islands, one of the many small islands in disputed South China Sea that is claimed by both China and Indonesia.      

Tensions flared up earlier this year between both claimants after Indonesia's Coast Guard arrested eight Chinese trawlers near the Natuna Islands. China demanded the immediate release of all the trawlers, but the request was firmly rejected by Jakarta.          

Later, in a strong message to China, Indonesian President paid a personal visit to the Natuna Islands on a naval warship. The move was seen as Jakarta's assertion of sovereignty over the contested islands.

Indonesia recently beefed up its security around the Natuna Islands following an international tribunal court's verdict on the South China Sea in June. The verdict dismissed China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea.

China has been on a back foot since the ruling, with the international community urging Beijing to respect the verdict. However, the Chinese government has stated that it would not accept the verdict under any circumstance, regardless of international pressure.

The Chinese government described the verdict as a ploy by Western forces to weaken its control over the maritime territory.

TagsIndonesia, South China Sea Dispute, China and Indonesia, Indonesia president, Joko Widodo