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Issues of the day: Minister hails sinking of 41 fishing vessels
Susi Pudjiastuti - JP/DONMay 20, OnlineMaritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has hailed the sinking of 41 foreign fishing vessels as part of the governmentâs program to protect the countryâs maritime resources
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Susi Pudjiastuti - JP/DON
May 20, Online
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has hailed the sinking of 41 foreign fishing vessels as part of the government's program to protect the country's maritime resources. 'The action was taken after legal proceedings for the foreign vessels were completed,' she said here on Wednesday.
The ministerargued that the sinkings were expected not only as a warning against illegal fishing in Indonesian waters, but also to help indirectly improve Indonesian fishermen's welfare and to uphold Indonesian sovereignty over its territory.
The fishing vessels were from Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and Thailand, and they were sunk in different locations. The sinking of the Chinese boat was the first since President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo declared a full-fledged war against foreign poachers in December
Your comments:
When Jokowi said 'just sink them' it meant he was determined to blow up these vessels caught poaching in our waters. Two things crossed my mind.
Why blow up the vessels at sea and not on land for ease of cleaning the debris? If that option is cumbersome, the vessels could be auctioned to interested parties.
Luwanto
Does sinking these fishing boats not cause pollution to the sea and is it not a waste of explosives? If the objective is to deliver a stern message to all foreign fishing vessels illegally entering Indonesian waters, will it not deliver the same message by simply confiscating such vessels?
In fact the confiscating of such vessels would better help Indonesian fishermen by levying a hefty fine to redeem the boat, or auctioning them off; or even giving them to local fishermen to use. Such actions would stop the pollution of the seas with sunken vessels and save the cost of explosives used while achieving the objective of penalizing illegal fishing in Indonesian territorial watesr.
At the same time, it benefits local fishermen and even the government if hefty fines are collected or the confiscated vessels are auctioned. For the maritime affairs minister to express joy or success in sinking these vessels reflects poorly on her wisdom and maturity in expressing power.
Common sense must dictate minimizing damages by recovering losses by way of the more pragmatic and civilized actions available. Maybe the minister or President Jokowi can enlighten the public as to why sinking such vessels is the most appropriate action.
LB Saw
Why not just confiscate the ships and then auction them off to the local fisherman or use the money to empower and better equip the sea patrol operations to further reduce illegal fishing activities?
Blowing up these ships does nothing but bring another soap opera show to project a false tough image of this incompetent government. And I'm tired of this lazy sovereignty argument they always use to justify their lack of reasoning in their decision-making.
Sovereignty should be proven by empowering the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and upholding the laws above everything. But these seem to be very seldom understood by politicians.
Itsbad
Why sink them? It's a waste. The large steel one could have been used for scrap metal and steel could have been recycled. The big one and the other ones might have been given away free or sold very cheaply to Indonesian fishermen, so they could use the boats to catch more fish, either for Indonesia, or for international markets.
Eddy Saf
I believe blowing up the ships in plain view is the only way to ensure confiscation of boats/ships does not become a new law enforcement cash cow.
It most certainly will become that, so I support blowing them up, though maybe better on land then at sea. Use them as military target practice at currently used sites.
Joko Ono
Nothing is done to protect the marine environment in Indonesia. The government and its institutions are incompetent and they do not show much will to handle these huge problems, anyway.
Sabar P
The Chinese boat has absolutely no connection with recent illegal fishing activities and seems to be nothing more than an unwanted rust bucket that's been sitting around for six years.
Can Susi please explain what happened to the Chinese boats recently confiscated while poaching? Are they still in Indonesia's possession? Or have they instead used the smoke from the explosion of this unwanted heap to discretely slip away into the sunset?
Loro Blonyo
The one from China was confiscated in 2009 and sunk only now, six years later? Come one Minister Susi, you can do better than that ' go find another one still illegally fishing in Indonesian waters and fire a Sidewinder or an Exocet missile and blow it up so that even those in Beijing could hear the explosion. Do you dare?
Malam
Indeed, even the Chinese have forgotten about it. And of course the boat has been ransacked for anything of value before being blown up.
Wandering Star
Mr. President ' you have been wearing your destructive cap for several months now; how about putting on the constructive cap for a change?
Rojak
These boats are considerable sources of pollution. They are a full of toxic chemicals and oil.
You can't auction a boat that's been sunk. They use explosives for propaganda purposes because turning the sea valves on will sink a boat for nothing. How much corruption is there in the Navy? What is the government doing to protect and repair the marine environment? Can we have some details on mangrove rehabilitation?
It's just another horrible lazy show to hide the fact they are doing nothing to revitalize and protect the marine environment.
Farmer
