TNI Navy to Blow-up 70 Foreign Ships on Independence Day
7 August 2015 15:48 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) plans to blow up 70 foreign ships to celebrate the 70th year of Indonesia's independence that falls this August 17. The foreign ships to be destroyed are those caught poaching in Indonesian waters.
"The ships were caught by the Water Police, the Navy, and the fishery patrol ship," TNI Navy Chief of Staff, Admiral Ade Supandi, said after the inauguration of the Navy's Main Base XII in Pontianak, Friday, August 7.
Separately, Asep Burhanudin, director general of marine and fisheries natural resources supervision, said that as of the beginning of August 2015, his agency had handled at least 92 cases of poaching.
"Poaching is not only done by foreign ships. There are also forty-one Indonesian flagged ships," he said.
The rest are from Vietnam (33 ships), the Philippines (eight), Thailand (five), and Malaysia (five).
Asep said the sinking of poacher boats is a "shock therapy" and a way to uphold the sovereignty of Indonesia.
Indonesia had sunk a number of ships used to capture fish illegally within its waters. The last sinking was carried out on May 20, 2015.
ASEANTY PAHLEVI