Natuna Islands
Granite Boulders Standing In Turquoise Water At The Far Edge Of Indonesia, In A Sea That Indonesia Renamed In 2017 To Make A Point About Who It Belongs To · Ranai, Riau Islands
Natuna is a long way from anywhere Indonesian. It sits in the SOUTH CHINA SEA, closer to Borneo and to Vietnam than to Java, and what is there is beautiful and almost unvisited: ENORMOUS ROUNDED GRANITE BOULDERS standing in shallow turquoise water at ALIF STONE PARK and along the coast, empty white beaches, and reefs nobody dives. BUT THE REASON THE NAME APPEARS IN NEWSPAPERS IS NOT TOURISM. NATUNA SITS AT THE EDGE OF THE NINE-DASH LINE, and Chinese and Indonesian vessels have confronted each other in these waters repeatedly over fishing and over gas. INDONESIA RENAMED THE WATERS THE NORTH NATUNA SEA IN 2017, which was a cartographic act with a diplomatic purpose, and has steadily built up its military presence here since. There are ENORMOUS OFFSHORE GAS RESERVES. Flights are few, it is expensive to reach, and hardly anyone goes. Book flights well ahead and leave spare days at both ends, because a disruption here is measured in days; the sea turns rough from about November to March and the boats stop; and do not photograph installations, vessels or personnel anywhere on the islands.
Kepulauan Natuna, Riau Islands, Ranai, Riau Islands, Indonesia
REACHED BY LIMITED FLIGHTS TO RANAI on Natuna Besar, generally via BATAM, TANJUNG PINANG or PONTIANAK - SCHEDULES ARE SPARSE, seats are limited and fares are high by Indonesian standards, so BOOK WELL AHEAD AND BUILD IN SPARE DAYS. ACCOMMODATION IS SIMPLE AND CONCENTRATED AT RANAI. ALIF STONE PARK charges a small entry. BOATS TO THE OUTER ISLANDS are arranged locally and informally and are weather-dependent. THE SEA IS ROUGH ROUGHLY NOVEMBER TO MARCH, when boats stop and some flights are disrupted. THIS IS A SENSITIVE BORDER AREA WITH A SIGNIFICANT MILITARY PRESENCE - do not photograph installations, vessels or personnel, and expect checks. BRING CASH; banking is minimal.