OVERVIEW

Jalasveva Jayamahe; On the sea, we rule. This historical phrase[1] was quoted by President Joko Widodo when he was inaugurated as the seventh President of Indonesia, under the spirit of encouraging Indonesia to embrace and live up to its identity as an archipelagic state.[2]

Introduced centuries ago, the concept of an archipelagic state was introduced by Gajah Mada, governor of Majapahit - one of the most prominent empires in Indonesian history—as he declared his infamous Palapa Oath to unify the islands spread throughout the archipelago, later named as Indonesia. Indonesia is also a maritime nation at heart, and its inhabitants have for centuries widely sailed her seas. Bugis people, for example, traversed the lurid Indian Ocean and reached the eastern part of Africa in their traditional Phinisi boats.