According to the Indonesian media, all the foreign vessels, which were blown up or scuttled at several locations, had been caught illegally fishing in Indonesian waters. So far this year, 365 crew members have been detained along with the vessels. Cargos were emptied and dumped, and the crew members will have to pay fines or serve a sentence in prison. According to the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia, what’s alarming is that the number of Vietnamese vessels caught in Indonesian waters has grown since Indonesia introduced tough measures to curb illegal fishing.
At a press briefing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh said that Vietnam is deeply concerned about the sinking of several Vietnamese fishing boats infringing Indonesian waters. He added that Vietnam had sent a diplomatic note to Indonesia, recommending that the latter minds the strategic partnership of the two nations when dealing with the Vietnamese fishermen at fault. The spokesperson said that Vietnam continued to pay attention to guiding its fishermen to respect the laws, regulations, and territorial waters of other countries.
