Reashot Xigwin
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The Indonesian Navy destroys foreign fishing vessels caught fishing illegally in waters near North Sulawesi yesterday. Photo: REUTERS
Published: 4:16 AM, May 21, 2015
JAKARTA — Indonesia yesterday sank a large Chinese vessel as well as 40 other foreign boats that had been caught fishing illegally in the country’s waters, a move likely to spark a strong reaction from Beijing and other regional capitals.
The 300 gross tonne Chinese vessel was destroyed with a low-explosive device on its hull in West Kalimantan, said Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti.
“This is not a show of force. This is just merely (us) enforcing our laws,” Ms Susi was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post.
The Gui Xei Yu 12661 is the first Chinese boat to be sunk since Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared war on illegal foreign fishing boats last December.
The Indonesian Navy detained Gui Xei Yu in 2009 after it was caught fishing near the South China Sea, a hotly disputed area involving China and South-east Asian nations such as Malaysia and Vietnam.
Besides the Chinese ship, the authorities also destroyed 40 other vessels in different places across the country. They included five boats from Vietnam, two boats from Thailand and 11 from the Philippines, The Post reported.
Shortly after assuming office last October, Mr Widodo launched a campaign to protect Indonesia’s maritime resources and domestic fishing industry, which loses billions of dollars in revenues to illegal fishing each year. He has also pledged to transform Indonesia into a maritime power and, in December last year, orchestrated a much-publicised sinking of three empty Vietnamese vessels.
Dozens of foreign vessels from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines have been sunk in recent months.
Ms Susi yesterday hailed the latest sinking of the 41 fishing boats, saying it was part of the government’s efforts to protect Indonesia’s maritime resources.
“The action was taken after legal proceedings for the foreign vessels were completed,” she said.
According to Ms Susi, the sinking served as a good lesson in deterring foreign vessels from fishing illegally in the country’s waters. She added that it also served an indirect purpose in improving the welfare of Indonesian fishermen as well as protecting the country’s territorial sovereignty.
Antara News quoted a senior official as saying that the sinking of the ships was held at the same time in several areas across Indonesia, and coordinated by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, the coastal police and the navy.
“This is to revive the National Awakening Day and as symbol of the rise of the world maritime spirit,” said Mr Asep Burhanudin, director-general of resources surveillance at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, who yesterday oversaw the destruction of vessels in North Sulawesi.
May 20 is National Awakening Day in Indonesia and marks the rise of Indonesian unity and nationalism.
Observers expect China to react strongly now that one of its vessels has been sunk. It could potentially lead to a diplomatic spat, which Jakarta has so far largely avoided with Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines after it destroyed their vessels. AGENCIES
Indonesia sinks 41 illegal fishing boats, including one from China | TODAYonline
Indonesia Sinks First Vessel From China Under Jokowi
Jakarta raises the stakes in its war on illegal fishing.
By Prashanth Parameswaran
May 21, 2015
Image Credit: Flickr/thatambitiousgirl
On May 20, Indonesia destroyed a Chinese vessel caught fishing illegally in Indonesian waters near the South China Sea, the first since President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo declared war on illegal fishing since coming to office late last year.
The Jakarta Post cited Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti as saying that the Gui Xei Yu 12661, a steel-made, 300-gross-ton boat, was sunk on Wednesday in Pontianak, West Kalimantan after it was detonated by the ministry with an explosive device planted on it. The boat was reportedly among 41 vessels simultaneously destroyed to commemorate National Awakening Day, with the others being from neighboring states including the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Indonesian government has been criticized by some in Southeast Asia for its controversial policy of sinking foreign boats from neighboring countries, a practice which Jokowi and his advisers say is necessary since illegal fishing costs the country billions of dollars in lost revenue each year (See: “Explaining Indonesia’s Sink The Vessels Policy Under Jokowi”). According to The Jakarta Post, between October 2014 and March 2015, the ministry and the navy sunk 18 boats from Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
But observers had questioned whether Indonesia would be willing to sink a Chinese vessel and risk potentially straining ties with a country which is Jakarta’s second largest trading partner, its top source of foreign tourists, and a growing investor. As The Diplomat reported exclusively in December, a Jokowi foreign policy adviser had suggested that the government would not be afraid to do so. (See: “Indonesia May Sink Chinese Vessels: Jokowi Adviser”). Yet, over the past few months, though Indonesia had detained several Chinese vessels, it held back from actually sinking them.
By now finally sinking its first Chinese vessel, the Jokowi government has shown that it is indeed willing to apply its ‘sink the vessels’ policy consistently, and confirmed that the strident tone it has adopted on sovereignty and territorial integrity extends even to its most important economic partners, as I had emphasized earlier. (See: “China and Indonesia Under Jokowi: Show Me The Money”).
That being said, the way which Jakarta chose to carry this out does suggest caution on its part. As opposed to other Asian states whose vessels were sunk with immediate effect, Indonesia’s stance towards China evolved more gradually, with the seizure of several boats in December leading the government to revoke a deal signed with Beijing on cooperation in the fisheries sector in early 2015 before the first sinking was carried out this week. The first Chinese vessel to be sunk was also destroyed among 41 vessels in line with a particular national occasion, rather than being done alone or with other Chinese boats only, as has been the case at times with vessels from other countries. In addition, Susi was careful to emphasize that the sinkings – which were carried out jointly by the ministry and the navy – was not a show of force, but merely a case of Indonesia enforcing its laws.
Indonesia Sinks First Vessel From China Under Jokowi | The Diplomat
