Sabang, Aceh


Sabang is a city consisting of a main island and several smaller islands off the northern tip of Sumatra. The islands form a city within Aceh Special Region, Indonesia. The administrative centre is located on Weh Island, 17 km north of Banda Aceh. The city covers an area of 153.0 square kilometres and according to the 2010 census had a population of 30,653 people; the latest estimate is 34,333. Sabang is also known as the northernmost and westernmost city of Indonesia.

History

The Japanese occupied the island and installed numerous bunkers, fortifications and gun emplacements. Their remnants can still be seen, though most have been re-purposed or removed. On 6 May 1943, the Imperial Japanese Navy's submarine, the I-29, tasked with a Yanagi mission, landed the Indian leader and freedom fighter, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and his lieutenant, Abid Hasan at Sabang on Weh Island, instead of the Penang, to avoid detection by British spies.

Geography

Islands

Following islands in Indonesia are scattered around Sabang:
  1. Klah Island
  2. Rondo Island
  3. Rubiah Island
  4. Seulako Island
  5. Weh Island

    Administrative districts

The city is divided into two districts, listed below with their areas and populations at the 2010 Census:
KecamatanArea in
sq.km		Population
at 2010
Census		No. of
Villages
Sukajaya72.315,54210
Sukakarya52.515,1118

Villages

Sabang has 18 villages in two districts. Sukajaya contained 10 villages, and Sukakarya contained 8 villages. Listed below with the name of all villages in Sabang with 2016 data:
VillagesKecamatan
PayaSukajaya
KeunekaiSukajaya
BeurawanSukajaya
JaboiSukajaya
BalohanSukajaya
Cot AbeukSukajaya
Cot Ba'uSukajaya
Anoi ItamSukajaya
Ujong KareungSukajaya
Ie MeuleSukajaya
IboihSukakarya
Batee ShokSukakarya
Paya SeunaraSukakarya
Krueng RayaSukakarya
Aneuk LaotSukakarya
Kota Bawah TimurSukakarya
Kota Bawah BaratSukakarya
Kota AtasSukakarya

Transport

Airport

Sabang is served by the Maimun S
aleh Airport. The airport is located southeast of the central city on Weh Island.

Sabang Port

India-Indonesia port development

Sabang has an ancient port on the historic Maritime Silk Route. To enhance cooperation in the national and maritime security and safety, trade connectivity, infrastructure and ecobomic development, the strategic partners India and Indonesia are jointly developing the Sabang deepsea port which also lies close to the India's southernmost territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In 2002, Indian Navy and Indonesian Navy signed "Ind-Indo Corpat" agreement. In May 2018, "Shared Vision of Maritime Cooperation in the Indo Pacific" agreement was signed between these two nations when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Indonesia. Consequently, both navies have been hosting bilateral "Samudra Shakti" naval exercise since November 2018 including in Java Sea and Andaman Sea. Indian naval shios have been regularly visiting Sabang port after the signing of the agreement. Several Indian navy ships undertook naval exercises and visits to Sabang e.g. a destroyer INS Rana in 2002, INS Sumitra in July 2018, INS VIJIT in 2019.
Indonesia's minister for maritime affairs, Luhut Pandjaitan, stated that Indonesia has given economic and military access to India to strategic Sabang port which will will invest in the port and economic zone of Sabang and build a hospital. She further stated that both India and Indonesia are large nations which do not need to lean towards any superpower, and that Indian navy ships will have access to the port which has 40 meter depth which is good for all vessles including submariens. Both nations started to discuss the Sabang port project in 2014. Shipping lanes passing through here are the global Choke point, Indonesia has “global maritime fulcrum” to counter balance the China's BRI, and this new India-Indonesia strategic partnership will balance the power in IOR and address the shared India-Indonesia's concerns about China's assertiveness in this region. Port is a key element of India's Indo-Pacific strategy.

International sail tourism event

The City hosted an international sail tourism event in September 2011. The sail race was participated in by around 50 ships with 15 crew members each. Besides sailing they visited interesting places packed in a 'tsunami' tourism, visit Gapang Beach and Iboih Beach with enchanting underwater scenery.
Sail Sabang 2017 was held from Nov. 28 until Dec. 5 in Sabang. The event is the ninth installment of Sail Indonesia, an annual yacht rally that was first launched in 2009 on Bunaken Island, North Sulawesi.

Ciatiaons