Indonesia Maritime defence and security issue

[pr1v4t33r]

Supreme Court to Create Maritime Crimes Division

Jakarta. In a bid to boost maritime law enforcement, Indonesia’s Supreme Court aims to establish, by the end of the year, a new division that specifically oversees cases related to the sea and fisheries.

“Law enforcement in the maritime and fisheries sector has a wide application, so having a fisheries court will help delineate the boundaries because there are a lot of issues we must deal with concerning maritime and fisheries cases,” Abdullah, head of the research and education bureau at the Supreme Court, said in a statement obtained by the Jakarta Globe on Monday.

Abdullah acknowledged that imposing regulations for illegal activities that occur in the country’s vast waters would be a difficult task for a number of reasons, including minimum human and financial resources, limited maritime-law expertise, and lack of coordination between ministries and agencies.

“There has never been a judge appointed to focus on fisheries. The same judges that deal with corruption cases also deal with maritime cases as they come up,” Abdullah said.

The Supreme Court expects to have a legal division that will include specialized legal experts and create a technical training module by December at the latest, according to the statement.

Bobby Rahman, a legal expert with the United Nations Development Program, has supported the forming of a fisheries court and also noted that the state must have more effective rules for offenses perpetrated in Indonesian waters.

“There are so many violations in the maritime and fisheries sector, such as bribery, graft and tax evasion,” Bobby said. “In addition, Indonesia has been negligent when it comes to maritime law, the flow of goods across international borders, customs, oil and gas, and environmental preservation. Strengthening law enforcement and establishing a fisheries court are an absolute must.”

Bobby also called on the Supreme Court to include more governmental stakeholders to help the new body with handling maritime crimes and advance the court’s expertise on maritime law.

Presidential priority

President Joko Widodo has been leading the campaign to protect Indonesia’s waters from illegal actions since he took office last October, resulting in a strict policy of scuttling foreign boats found guilty of breaking the law in Indonesian waters.

Monday’s statement also mentioned that Maluku, in eastern Indonesia, is the province with the highest number of maritime offenses.

“Most of the violations take place in the Aru archipelago in Maluku,” said Yunus Husein, deputy chair for the task force on illegal fishing prevention and eradication at the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry. He added that illegal work permits and human trafficking accounted for 95 percent of the offenses.

The latest, large-scale violation was exposed when an Associated Press investigation revealed hundreds of foreign workers, mainly from Myanmar, had worked in captivity without pay and in many cases had been subjected to torture.

The AP reported that the Myanmar workers had been forced to work 22 hours a day, whipped with toxic stingray tails, denied pay, and forbidden from returning to their home country or telling anyone about their plight. Some were allegedly held in cages.

Supreme Court to Create Maritime Crimes Division - The Jakarta Globe

 

[Huan]

We have the largest naval forces in South East Asia.

Where did you get all that money to afford it?

 

[pr1v4t33r]

Where did you get all that money to afford it?

i don't know, it's not my money to begin with.

 

[Huan]

i don't know, it's not my money to begin with.

Oh, not taxpayer money at least?

 

[Indos]

Where did you get all that money to afford it?

Some thing from here


"Despite slowing down in recent years, Indonesia’s growth trajectory remains impressive. The country’s gross national income per capita has steadily risen, from $2,200 in the year 2000 to $3,524 in 2014. Today, Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous nation, the world’s 10th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, and a member of the G-20"

Indonesia Overview (world bank)

 

[pr1v4t33r]

Sea, forests important for inclusive growth: Sri Mulyani

In a rare domestic public appearance, World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati has laid out her policy recommendations for Indonesia to boost output and improve natural-resource management, the highly respected economist arguing that the country should strive to make its economic growth more inclusive.

Recent developments in Indonesia, where the current government has placed heavy emphasis on maritime affairs and sea-based infrastructure projects, was “encouraging” but policymakers could still do better, said Sri Mulyani.

Inefficient fish stock management and illegal fishing lost US$75-US$125 billion of global output annually, she noted, while unreported and illegal fishing led to some $20 billion worth of lost revenues in Indonesia.

“If Indonesia improves governance of the fisheries sector and invests in large-scale maritime transport, it can double fish production by 2019,” Sri Mulyani stated on Tuesday in a keynote speech delivered during the Indonesia Green Infrastructure Summit in Jakarta.

“Average poverty rates in coastal areas are among the highest here. Reversing these developments is essential.”

Sri Mulyani’s has been among the names floated to join the government’s economic team in the next Cabinet reshuffle. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is reportedly evaluating his ministers as economic growth hovers at a six-year low and the rupiah languishes at its weakest level in more than a decade.

Sri Mulyani was Indonesia’s finance minister from 2005 to 2010 before she resigned from her post to join the World Bank, reportedly due to her hostile relationships with politicians.

In her speech, she argued that Indonesia would need a “leadership that is not afraid to tackle the status quo”. Indonesia has not been inclusive enough, according to Sri Mulyani, and economic expansion has come at the expense of the environment, with major negative implications for future generations.

Sri Mulyani noted that in reality, government agencies were often unaware the extent to which natural resources were being depleted.

In the forestry sector, every year Indonesia loses approximately $4 billion because of illegal logging, while revenues from forestry licensing amount to only $300 million annually, according to World Bank data.

“Conflicting legislation and regulations, overlapping mandates, unwillingness to enforce land use, elite capture, entrenched attitudes and lack of incentives to influence behavior are rife in many resource-rich countries,” she stated.

“Like many countries, Indonesia can transform its decision-making system to be more transparent and inclusive, particularly on resource allocation and use,” she added.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who delivered his speech after Mulyani, promised to build more renewable energy-based power plants from hydro to solar to wind power to ensure that the environment was protected, but cautioned that the plan might only be achievable in the long run.

At the moment, he argued, the government had no choice but to develop coal-fired power plants, which are seen as environmentally unfriendly, to meet the country’s growing electricity needs.

“The government’s 10,000 megawatts of power plant development projects will all come from coal. We decided to take a ‘fast-track’ approach, given the fact that coal does not need lengthy project research or huge sums of money,” the Vice President said.

Sea, forests important for inclusive growth: Sri Mulyani | The Jakarta Post

 

[pr1v4t33r]

Indonesia, Panama establish maritime cooperation

Indonesia and Panama have established cooperation in maritime affairs, especially regarding the management of seaports, vessel registration, the eradication of illegal fishing, the protection of ship crews, the certification of seafarers and the development of bilateral trade.

Foreign Ministry director general for America and Europe Dian Triansyah Djani met with Panama Maritime Affairs Minister Jorge Barakat Pitty in Panama, according to a Foreign Ministry statement received by Antara news agency in London on Monday.

“Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country in the world and its maritime potential needs to be developed in line with the policy of President Joko [Jokowi] Widodo,” Djani said.

Djani added that Indonesia was expected to take advantage of the cooperation as Panama was already well-established in developing its maritime potential.

Pitty said Panama was ready to cooperate and share with Indonesia its experiences in various maritime sectors, such as port management, the protection of seafarers and training.

Panama has 13 ports, of which Cristobal and Balboa are the busiest in Latin America. Cristobal Port serves 2.2 million maritime units per year.

In addition, the maritime potential of Panama is supported by the Panama Canal, connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, which are navigated by about 14,000 vessels per year.

Pitty further said that in order to increase the capacity of ship crews, Panama had offered a training and certification program for Indonesian sailors.

The International Maritime University of Panama has a reputation for educating the best sailors in Panama.

To provide protection for Indonesians abroad, especially in Panama, Indonesia and Panama will explore a cooperation framework called the Mandatory Consular Notification.

According to Indonesian Ambassador to Panama Dwi Ayu Arimami, there are currently 5,421 Indonesians working on Panama-flagged ships.

Indonesia, Panama establish maritime cooperation | Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

 

[pr1v4t33r]

Indonesia speeds up marine boundary delimitation with Malaysia

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has appointed Ambassador Eddy Pratomo as his special envoy in an effort to speed up the delimitation of maritime boundaries with Malaysia.

The appointment comes as a result of a meeting between the Indonesian President and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak during the former’s visit to Malaysia from February 5-7 and meetings between the two countries’ Foreign Ministers in early 2015.

Accordingly, the two countries will send their special envoys to participate in the delimitation of maritime boundaries.

Eddy Pratomo was formerly Indonesian Ambassador to Germany and Malaysian special envoy Tan Sri Mohd Radzi Abdul Rahman was previously the Ambassador to Vietnam and Japan.

Under the agreements reached between the leaders of the two nations, the special envoys will take political, legal and technical aspects into account.

Indonesia speeds up marine boundary delimitation with Malaysia -- Vietnam+ (VietnamPlus)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Palau burns Vietnamese boats caught fishing illegally
The tiny Pacific nation of Palau, fighting a rising tide of illegal fishing in its waters, has set fire to four boats of Vietnamese caught poaching sea cucumbers and other marine life in its waters.

In this photo taken Wednesday, June 10, 2015 and released by the Government of the Republic of Palau, Vietnamese fishermen sit on their fishing ships anchored at the Marine Law Enforcement Division Port in Koror, Palau after being caught fishing illegally in the waters of the country. The tiny Pacific nation of Palau, fighting a rising tide of illegal fishing in its waters, has set fire to four boats of Vietnamese caught poaching sea cucumbers and other marine life in its waters. Palau’s president, Tommy Remengesau Jr., said the boats were burned Friday morning, June 12, 2015. He hopes to turn most of the island nation’s territorial waters into a national marine sanctuary, banning commercial fishing and exports apart from limited areas to be used by domestic fishermen and tourists. (The Government of the Republic of Palau via AP) (Associated Press)

Palau’s president, Tommy Remengesau Jr., said the boats were burned Friday morning. He hopes to turn most of the island nation’s territorial waters into a national marine sanctuary, banning commercial fishing and exports apart from limited areas to be used by domestic fishermen and tourists.

“We wanted to send a very strong message. We will not tolerate any more these pirates who come and steal our resources,” Remengesau said in a phone interview with The Associated Press from Washington, D.C., where he was visiting.

The country created the world’s first shark sanctuary in 2009, but until recently had only one patrol boat to help protect its great hammerheads, leopard sharks and more than 130 other species of shark and rays fighting extinction.

The four boats destroyed Friday were among 15 Palau authorities have caught fishing illegally in their waters since last year with loads of sharks and shark fins, lobsters, sea cucumbers and reef fish. Several of the boats that it seized, stripped of their fishing gear, are due to carry 77 crew members of the boats back to Vietnam.

Remengesau said that the stream of poachers showed that just stripping the rogue boats of their nets and confiscating their catches was not enough

“I think it’s necessary to burn the boats,” he said.

more:
- Palau burns Vietnamese boats caught fishing illegally - The Washington Post
- Palau burns Vietnamese boats caught fishing illegally - Yahoo News

 

[DaiViet]

May be Vietnamese should do the same to Indonesian Fishers to see what they can react. Sure not a friendly move.

 

[katarabhumi]

May be Vietnamese should do the same to Indonesian Fishers to see what they can react. Sure not a friendly move.

If they are caught being ilegally inside your territory then go ahead.. Your country, your law.. Though I doubt any Indonesian fisherman would go to Vietnam waters to catch fish. We have waaay bigger fishing zones than yours.

 

[pr1v4t33r]

May be Vietnamese should do the same to Indonesian Fishers to see what they can react. Sure not a friendly move.

Nice, please update this topic when they do.

 

[DaiViet]

If they are caught being ilegally inside your territory then go ahead.. Your country, your law.. Though I doubt any Indonesian fisherman would go to Vietnam waters to catch fish. We have waaay bigger fishing zones than yours.

It does not matter how many Viet go to indo fishing zone compare to Indo come to the Viet. If the Indo made move that Viet dont consider friendly at all even after log a complained, then the Viet should do similar move should not consider Indo as a friend to the Viet then. I guess that will happen naturally.

 

[katarabhumi]

It does not matter how many Viet go to indo fishing zone compare to Indo come to the Viet. If the Indo made move that Viet dont consider friendly at all even after log a complained, then the Viet should do similar move should not consider Indo as a friend to the Viet then. I guess that will happen naturally.

Your fisherman did unfriendly thing to us first by stealing and poaching our fish in our water.. for years. What kind of friend who steal from his friend?

Relax, it's not like any harm come to the Viet fisherman anyway.. We just sink their boat.

 

[DaiViet]

Your fisherman did unfriendly thing to us first by stealing and poaching our fish in our water.. for years. What kind of friend who steal from his friend?

Relax, it's not like any harm come to the Viet fisherman anyway.. We just sink the boat.

However burning ship is not consider as friendly to the Viet, neither to the Thai. In Shangri La dialog one of the Viet defense minister mention about that.

 

[katarabhumi]

However burning ship is not consider as friendly to the Viet, neither to the Thai. In Shangri La dialog one of the Viet defense minister mention about that.

Burning the ship as a reminder of how serious this illegal fishing matter to us. Illegal fisherman have been warned again and again but they kept doing it which leave us no choice but implementing a heavier punishment. Even Palau do the same as we do.

Come next time with legal permit and you'll be fine.