Ministry Ready to Sink Illegal Fishing Ships, Mostly Vietnamese

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Maritime and Fisheries Ministry will sink 30 foreign ships for illegal fishing after Eid Al-Fitr. Chief of the Special Task Force for the Eradication of Illegal Fishing Achmas Santosa, said that most of the ships were identified to be registered in Vietnam.

"The decision is final and binding. Mostly are Vietnam [ships] and all of them are new ships," Achmad said on Thursday, June 6, 2019.

Achmad confirmed that Vietnam ships are most often recorded to violate Indonesian waters for illegal fishing. He added that this condition happens not without a reason.

He further explained that Vietnam ships often trespasses the Exclusive Economic Zone under an argument of duplicated area. Achmad said that Vietnam claimed continental shelf is part of the exclusive zone.

Based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), continental shelf of a coastal State is comprised of the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond the state’s territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone measures 200 miles of the coastline. This means that Indonesia has sovereign rights over the natural resources inside the stipulated area.

Achmad asserted that to anticipate illegal passage of Vietnam ships, Indonesia must conduct a bilateral negotiation in relation to the Exclusive Economic Zone.

"There has to be a protocol," he said.

Although Achmad admitted that there has been diplomatic efforts with Vietnam, he acknowledged that it is still not enough to mitigate maritime conflicts.

Indonesia had previously discussed the Exclusive Economic Zone with Vietnam in 2010. In the discussion, both countries agreed to comply with the UNCLOS.

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA