The documentary drama '12 Mile: Guiding the Archipelago' screened at the University of Melbourne on 19 May 2026. More than a tribute to Professor Mochtar Kusumaatmadja's struggle, the film delivers a powerful message: Indonesia's greatest challenge only began after its quarter-century diplomatic victory.
Film '12 Mile: Guiding the Archipelago' tells the story of Prof Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, a national hero of the Republic of Indonesia, and his fight to secure global recognition of Indonesia's archipelagic state concept through the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Over more than two decades of diplomacy, Prof. Mochtar Kusumaatmadja helped expand Indonesia's territorial sea from three to twelve nautical miles and ultimately united the nation's waters under one sovereign boundary.
However, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Universitas Padjajaran Ahmad Gusman Catur Siswandi stressed that the film's message goes beyond celebrating past achievements. Referencing a book by Australian academics Butcher and Elson, he said, implementing what Indonesia achieved through UNCLOS 1982 could prove even harder than the twenty-five years of diplomacy itself.
Mr. Gusman said this challenge has only grown more complex, as climate change drives rising sea levels and threatens the implementation of Indonesia's maritime boundaries.
The Australian screening also carried its own diplomatic significance. Mr. Gusman said Indonesia and Australia still have several maritime border agreements that have not been fully implemented, and he expressed hope that the film could build greater awareness among citizens of both countries.
For young audience members, the film left a lasting impression. Tika Tazkia Nurdiawati, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, said she was most moved by the scenes depicting Professor Mochtar's difficult years before his appointment as minister. The moral lesson, she said, the higher a person's ambitions, the greater the consequences they must be prepared to face.
Nisrina Olivia Jasmine, a Master of Laws student at the University of Melbourne, said the United Nations negotiation scenes are the most compelling, particularly because she had just completed a course on dispute resolution.
The Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Melbourne organised the screening together with Mata Garuda Australia–New Zealand, IKA FH Unpad, LPDP Unimelb Association, LPDP Monash, and the Melbourne Postgraduate International Relations Organisation.
In this podcast, hear from Dean of the Faculty of Law at Universitas Padjajaran Ahmad Gusman Catur Siswandi, as well as audience members Nisrina Olivia Jasmine and Tika Tazkia Nurdiawati, on the film "12 Mile" and its relevance to Indonesia as an archipelagic state.
