Gov’t Ratifies ASEAN-China Maritime Transport Agreement

Gov’t Ratifies ASEAN-China Maritime Transport Agreement

Considering that Indonesian Government has signed an Agreement on Maritime Transport between the Goverments of the Member Countries of ASEAN and the Goverment of the People’s Republic of China in Singapore, on 2 November 2007, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, on 14 March 2016, has signed a Ratification of the Agreement on Maritime Transport between the Goverments of the Member Countries of ASEAN and the Goverment of the People’s Republic of China.

“The Presidential Regulation come into effect as of the date of its promulgation,” Article 3 of the Presidential Regulation Number 23 of 2016  which was promulgated by Minister of Law and Human Rights on 16 March 2016 says.

Facilities and Cooperation

The Agreement, that is written in English and is translated in Bahasa Indonesia is attached in the Presidential Regulation. It says the Member Countries of ASEAN and the Goverment of the People’s Republic of China believe that the cooperation on maritime transport will bring great benefits to the development of trade and economic relations betwen ASEAN countries and China.

Therefore, ASEAN countries and China have the same goal to carry on further cooperation and communications, as well as to develop the framework of regional maritime transport system which aims at improving maritime transport facilities.

The Agreement has agreed to provide facilities and to establish cooperation in order to improve the conditions of maritime, goods, and passenger transports, that are carried out between the ports of the Contracting Parties, as well as between the ports of the Contracting Parties and the ports of third countries, to give benefits for economic actors of the Contracting Parties.

“The Contracting Parties shall refrain from any action that might be detrimental to the unrestricted participation of shipping companies of the Contracting Parties in maritime transport between the Contracting Parties as well as between the Contracting Parties and third countries,” Article 1 of the Agreement says.

Meanwhile, the scopes of the Agreement are as follow:

1. This Agreement applies to international maritime goods and passenger transport between the ports of the Member Countries of ASEAN and China.
2. This Agreement shall not apply to domestic maritime transport between the ports within territorial waters of ASEAN member countries or between the ports in China.
3. This Agreement shall not affect the implementation of bilateral agreements signed by the Member Countries of ASEAN and China, particularly for issues outside the scope of this Agreement.
4. This Agreement shall not affect the rights of vessels of third parties to involve in goods and passenger transports between the ports of the Contracting Parties or between the ports of either Contracting Party and a third party.

Based on the appendix of the Presidential Regulation, each Contracting Party shall grant the vessels of the other Contracting Party, their crew members, passengers and goods on board the treatment no less favorable than granted to vessels of a third country in regards to:

1. the access to ports open to international maritime traffic;
2. the stay in ports and departure therefrom;
3. the use of port facilities for goods and passengers transport as well as regarding the access to any services and other facilities available in ports;
4. the collection of fees and port charges.

(Pusdatin/ES)(RAS/MMB/YM/Naster)