Indonesian Navy Destroys 38 Foreign Fishing Boats
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Indonesian military has sunk 34 impounded foreign boats, the latest bid to deter vessels from illegally fishing in the world's biggest archipelago nation.
The vessels, which came from Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia, were sunk as part of the commemoration of Indonesia's 70th Independence Day.
There were 34 foreign boats and four Indonesian-registered ones. The four Indonesian boats that have destroyed as it had been caught fishing without correct documents.
All the vessels, which were blown up or scuttled at several locations across the archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, had been caught illegally fishing in Indonesian waters.
In a statement, Indonesia's Minister for Maritime and Fisheries, Ms Susi Pudjiastuti, said maritime sovereignty is a key factor to ensure Indonesia's unity.
Ms Susi said that as Indonesia is an archipelago whose territory comprised of two-thirds water, it must have sovereignty over its territorial waters. "We have to be able to show that we can be triumphant on the sea because the sea is the future of our nation," she said.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is leading the campaign against illegal fishing and says it costs the country billions of dollars in lost revenues every year.
Foreign trawlers had already been sunk on several occasions in recent months.