Indonesia and China have no agreement on a traditional fishing zone, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said following a spat over the arrest of a China-flagged vessel for allegedly poaching in Indonesian waters last week.

Such an agreement exists between China and Malaysia and involves the Malacca Strait and limited areas agreed upon by both parties, Susi said on Tuesday.

She reiterated that the Indonesian Navy was correct in detaining the crew of a vessel suspected of poaching in Natuna waters off Riau province on June 17. The Navy pursued 12 foreign vessels but only managed to arrest one with six male and one female crewmembers.

The boats were catching fish in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone, Susi said.

"That is illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing," she said at a press conference as quoted by tempo.co.

Indonesian law enforcement measures against foreign fishing boats suspected of illegally fishing must be respected by other countries, she said, adding that failure to respect such measures would lead to deteriorating bilateral relations.

The ministry invited six foreign ambassadors, including from China, to a meeting in November 2014 on law enforcement efforts in the field of fisheries and maritime, Susi said. Indonesia's stern message in combating illegal fishing was conveyed at the meeting.

"I gave a heads up, which was kind enough," she said.

The Chinese government protested the firing upon the caught vessel and the detaining of seven of its citizens. China includes waters around Natuna Islands within its nine-dash line, meaning it claims the body of the water.

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by The Jakarta Post

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]