Riau Archipelago

Not to be confused with Riau Islands Province, a province (administrative) of Indonesia.
Red circle around the Riau archipelago, within Riau Islands Province (green)

The Riau Archipelago is a geographic term (as opposed to administrative region) for the core group of islands within the Riau Islands Province in Indonesia, and located south of Singapore. Before the province of Riau Islands was formed, there was no ambiguity in term; however, in Indonesian both the archipelago and islands are referred to as simply "Kepulauan Riau". The province may have the word "Provinsi" preceding it.

History

The name of this archipelago predates the creation of the Indonesian province, and historically did not include the Lingga Islands or Natuna Islands, which now belong to that province.

Historically, before Mahmud III's death in 1811 and Singapore's purchase in 1819, the islands of the Riau Archipelago, along with Temasek (now Singapore) - were under the Johor Sultanate. The islands became part of the Riau-Lingga Sultanate, created after the succession dispute following the death of Mahmud III of Johor, when Abdul Rahman was crowned as the first Sultan of Riau-Lingga in 1812. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 established the border between Dutch and British interests and awarded the islands to the Dutch sector of influence.

Social change

A number of studies and books have detailed the growing violence and concern about identity and social change in the archipelago.[1][2] As the Malay, who were once the dominant ethnic group in the islands, have been reduced to about a third of the population, primarily as a result of immigration from elsewhere in Indonesia, they feel that their traditional rights are threatened. Similarly, the immigrants have felt politically and financially suppressed. Both of these causes have led to increased violence.[3]

Piracy in the archipelago is also an issue. [4]

Islands

The main islands are Batam, Rempang, Galang, Bintan, Combol, Kundur, and Karimun.

Tanjung Pinang located in the south of Bintan Island is the provincial capital. Tanjung Balai Karimun is an international port along with Tanjung Pinang.

Transportation

High speed ferry services exist to the archipelago of the south, the Lingga Islands (Kepulauan Lingga).

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Long, Nicholas J (2013), Being Malay in Indonesia : histories, hopes and citizenship in the Riau Archipelago, Singapore Asian Studies Association of Australia in association with NUS Press and NIAS Press, ISBN 978-9971-69-769-3
  2. ↑ Riau Roundtable (2007 : Singapore); S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (2007), Opportunities and challenges in the Riau Archipelago and the Riau Province : report on a conference organized by the Indonesian Programme of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, retrieved 31 December 2013
  3. ↑ Ananta, Aris (2006), Changing Ethnic Composition and Potential Violent Conflict in Riau Archipelago, Indonesia: An Early Warning Signal, Population Review Publications, retrieved 31 December 2013
  4. ↑ Vagg, Jon (1995-01-01), "Rough seas? Contemporary piracy in South East Asia. (Riau Archipelago, Indonesia)", British Journal of Criminology, Oxford University Press, 35 (n1): 63–80, ISSN 0007-0955
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Coordinates: 0°54′00″N 104°27′00″E / 0.900°N 104.450°E / 0.900; 104.450

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