In pictures: Indonesia’s gas-rich islands in the South China Sea

A mountain dominates the skyline above Ranai, the largest town in Indonesia’s remote Natuna archipelago. It has few cars and only two sets of traffic lights. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

Local fisherman Rusli Suhardi prepares his lines as he heads towards fishing grounds off the east coast of Natuna Besar. As in Vietnam and the Philippines, it is Indonesia's fishing fleet that feels China's growing maritime presence most acutely. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

A fisherman stands next to his catch on a wharf near Penagi on Natuna Besar. Natuna fish stocks plummeted with the arrival of big-net trawlers from China, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

A boy fishes near the shore on the east coast of Natuna Besar. Any quarrel over Natuna would upset a delicate strategic balance, undermining Indonesia's role as a self-appointed honest broker in the myriad territorial disputes between its Southeast Asian neighbors and regional giant China. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

A collapsed walkway floats in the water next to Penagi, an ethnic Chinese village built on stilts, on Natuna Besar. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

An Indonesian Air Force hangar is pictured next to the Ranai Airbase runway on Natuna Besar. Ranai Airbase was developed after Indonesia's independence in 1949, and the town grew up around it. Today, a new civilian passenger terminal is being constructed in the hope of attracting more investors and tourists. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

The boat of local fisherman Rusli Suhardi heads towards fishing grounds off the east coast of Natuna Besar. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

A man crouches down in the water at Penagi, an ethnic Chinese village built on stilts, on Natuna Besar. Every morning, an Indonesian flag is raised over Penagi's pier. Many locals say the Indonesian government cares little about the fate of Natuna, which lies closer to Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur than it does to Jakarta. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

A child crosses the main street of Penagi, an ethnic Chinese village built on stilts, on Natuna Besar. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

A new civilian passenger terminal is constructed at the end of the Ranai Airbase runway on Natuna Besar. Plans to upgrade the airbase were "not a new thing", but part of a longer-term strategy to improve the airforce's far-flung facilities, base commander Lieutenant Colonel Andri Gandhy told Reuters. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

Traditional fishing boats work off the east coast of Natuna Besar. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

Rusli Suhardi, a leader of the local fishermen’s cooperative, reacts after returning to shore in Ranai on Natuna Besar. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

Decaying wrecks of confiscated foreign trawlers rot in a shallow estuary near Penagi on Natuna Besar. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

Freshly caught fish waiting to be sold are placed on a table on a wharf in Ranai on Natuna Besar. Tim Wimborne / Reuters

About 80,000 people live on 27 of Natuna’s islands, mostly in Ranai and other places on the main island of Natuna Besar. The state-owned Pertamina is co-developing the East Natuna gas field with Exxon Mobil Corp, Total SA and PTT Exploration and Production.