An Indonesian training ship is sailing to Manila and will arrive in the Philippines next week, Oct. 15, to show Jakarta's commitment on various maritime agreements with the country.
KRI Bima Suci will dock at the Port of Manila until Oct. 18 as part of the year-long celebration commemorating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Indonesia and the Philippines.
Bima Suci is a barque—or a vessel with more than three masts—and a training vessel of the Indonesian Navy.
It was launched in September 2017 and sailed from Spain to Indonesia.
According to Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines Adus Widjojo, Bima Suci is also known as the Floating Ambassador of Goodwill.
It is sailing from one port to another across the globe “to spread peace, strengthen friendship, and promote Indonesian culture,” Widjojo said.
“Being both archipelagic states and sharing the same maritime border, Indonesia and the Philippines are strongly committed to honor all its undertakings, including their shared maritime agreement,” he added.
Indonesia and the Philippines are two archipelagic states belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional bloc that is firm in its call for management of dispute over the South China Sea through proper dialogue and consultation.
Both countries are also claimant states of the South China Sea and have competing dispute with China, which claims the entirety of the waters.
And despite sharing a porous maritime border, Indonesia and the Philippines have managed to avoid conflict through various agreements, including delimiting their exclusive economic zone (EEZ) boundaries.