Thank You, Terima Kasih …

While writing the thesis as a whole was challenging, this acknowledgement part is the one I wrote nervously for there are too many parties I owe thanks to in the completion of this journey. First and foremost I sincerely thank my wife, Asti, for her enduring support that I can never describe in words. I understand that Asti’s decision to support my academic journey and put her career second is one of the toughest decisions she has ever made. I also thank my daughter, Lita, for her amazing support for behaving well during my absence due to the study. For both Asti and Lita, I dedicate this work. They are the reason I am.

Clive Schofield is the one who introduced me to this fascinating world of maritime boundaries. Clive, you are more than a good supervisor to me. Thank you for unlocking so many doors of opportunities by introducing me to many great scholars in this field. I felt welcome and it makes this journey enjoyable. I have enjoyed making maps for you and thank you for providing space for me to further develop my professional cartographic career to introduce the power of maps to a global audience. I also acknowledge Prof. Martin Tsamenyi for his support along the way. Martin, you have directly and indirectly taught me the way to communicate complicated issues such as maritime boundaries in a manner that is understandable by a non-expert audience.

Thanks also to my parents, Meme’, Bapak, and Ibu for all the love you have unconditionally given me. I know that you have not officially experienced education that much but your support to me is evidence of your positive views towards education. My siblings, Mbok Iluh (and her family) and Komang Andika, I thank you for your love and support to me and my little family. You might not realise but you have demonstrated examples on how I should deal with obstacles along this journey. I thank my parents in law, Bapak and Ibu for their kindness to take over a lot of my responsibility, especially in taking care of Lita, an obligation that I did not do properly due to, among other issues, this research journey. My brothers and sisters in laws, Mas Wawan, Mas Ari, Mbak Komang and their respective family members, have also supported me tirelessly during the study. They have also taken over some of my responsibilities to allow me focus on my study.

Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong is an excellent place for me to complete this PhD journey. I thank Myree Mitchell for being a good ‘mom’ for everybody at ANCORS and making the life at the Centre becomes more like a family. I also value warm and bonding friendship I developed with ANCORS’s brothers and sisters, Mary Ann Palma-Robles, Kresno Buntoro, Jane Mbendo, Josie M. Tamate, Kamal Deen-Ali, Zaki Ahmad, Carole Durussel, Yubing Shi, Filimon M. Manoni, Pakjuta “Nang” Khemakorn, Arief Setyanto, Ahmmad Almaududi Amri, Shaun Lin, Ben Milligan, Lorelei Peralta, Hazmi Rusli, Adham Abdulla, and Daisuki Sekine. I especially thank Lowell Bautista, and Joytishna Jit for reading part of this thesis and providing valuable suggestions. The UN-Nippon Foundation Fellows, Sora “Oki” Lokita, Polite Dispriani, Teresa Guia Monje, and Ferique Shotte, thank you for making academic life at ANCORS more colourful. I certainly enjoyed not only insightful discussions but also the opportunity to dine out that we organised in between researches, writings and presentations.

I extend my sincere thank AusAID for supporting my study through the Australian Leadership Awards Scholarship and Alison Sudradjat Awards. This journey would not have been enjoyable without warm assistance provided by scholarship liaison officers at the University of Wollongong. I thank Natalie Correa, Nhan Nguyen and all other good people who have been very patient to address all my questions and requests. I thank the Australian people and government for their generosity. I believe however, that this assistance and scholarship is based on mutual respect and interest so I really hope that I can return the favour by promoting mutual understanding between Indonesia and Australia in the future.

I was an active member of the Indonesian Students Association in Wollongong, NSW, and Federal Australia and have met a lot of good people who spent their time not only for study and research but also being involved in community life. I thank each and every one of them for different experience so my study life was not only about research but also about contributing to Indonesia while away from home. I also like to thank some good friends with whom I lived during my study in Wollongong, Mani, Leon, Jai, Luhur and Mas Nur Hasyim. I thank them for saving me from feeling lonely, especially when Asti and Lita were not around.

Living in Wollongong and Sydney has been a great social experience to me and my family, particularly for Balinese community where I was also an active member. I thank and appreciate some of the Balinese community members which include Ode, Putu Eri, Bli Made Sujata, Ayu, Bli Sutil, Wulan, Mbak Dyah, Bli Alit, Mbak Dana, Mas Dani, Nandya, Nita, Bli Eka Sarjana, Mbok Dewi, Krishna, Dede, Mbok Alit, Anik, Gede Ardhita, Juliana, Will, Bli Dodiek, Pak Bagus Rai, Bli Doddy, Antari, Borneo, Novi and Shita. Some other great friends that I consider family are Linggar and Aji. Spending time with them kept me grounded, not to forget my cultural roots while reaching beyond the horizon.

This journey is essentially to prepare myself to return to where I belong, the Department of Geodetic and Geomatic Engineering, Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia. I thank my colleagues at the department for allowing me to be absent from home for a reasonably long time and for keeping their faith in me. I particularly want to thank Pak Subaryono, Pak Sumaryo, Pak Djurdjani, Pak Parseno, Pak Trias, Bu Leni, Bu Yeni, Mas Heri, Dedi, Bambang, and Ruli for their support. I really hope this journey will equip me with what I need to return to the department and grow together with my colleagues.

Thanks are also due to colleagues in Bakosurtanal (now, BIG), Pak Sobar Sutisna, Mas Eko Artanto, Ibu Tripatmasari, Pak Khafid, Astrid Rimayanti, and Farid Yuniar for their support with geospatial data and information. I would also like to thank good diplomats in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Dr. Nur Hassan Wirajuda, Minister Dr. Marty Natalegawa, and Pak Arif Havas Oegroseno, for insightful discussions during the study. Helpful people from the Indonesian Navy, Pak Rusdi Ridwan, Pak Iswinardi, Pak Trismadi, and Mas Qisti Amarona are thanked for their technical support, without which I would not be able to finish the journey.

I have also learned directly and indirectly from great scholars in this area including Prof. Hasjim Djalal, Dr. Vivian L. Forbes, Prof. Victor Prescott, and Prof. Phil Symmonds. I thank them for their dedication to this field and for their patience in sharing knowledge with members of the younger generation like me. I might have missed a few names for there are so many people contributing to this scientific pilgrimage. I am sure, however, that without their names printed on this thesis, their roles will neither be undervalued nor forgotten.

Author: Andi Arsana

I am a lecturer and a full-time student of the universe View all posts by Andi Arsana