Hanoi asks Jakarta to humanely treat Vietnamese fishermen violating territorial waters

The spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Le Hai Binh, said Thursday that Hanoi feels deeply concerned about the fact that Indonesian authorities sank fishing boats of Vietnamese fishermen for their infringement of Jakarta’s territorial waters.

Binh added that Vietnam had sent a diplomatic note to Indonesia to recommend the nation pay attention to the strategic partnership of the two countries while dealing with such Vietnamese fishermen.

A representative of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured that Vietnam always pays attention to guiding its fishermen to respect laws, regulations, and territorial waters of other countries.

AFP earlier reported that Indonesian authorities sank 34 foreign fishing ships, including some Vietnamese fishing boats, for violating the territorial waters of Indonesia during their 70th anniversary of national independence on August 18.

According to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, his nation loses billions of U.S. dollars a year due to illegal fishing in its waters.