T

he Navy has denied that a recently passed regulation places the entire naval force under the command of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry amid criticism from members of the House of Representatives.

Navy spokesperson Commodore M. Zainuddin maintained that the inclusion of the country'€™s maritime forces in the newly established Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal Fishing did not constitute an overlap of authority.

He added that it did not imply that the entire naval force would be subordinated to the task force head, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti.

'€œThis is a task force that was principally formed to combat illegal fishing '€” to target fishing vessels. The Navy is merely assisting in the operations,'€ Zainuddin told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The flag officer revealed that the Navy would prepare two patrolling units for deployment in the eastern part of the country'€™s vast territorial waters, and another two for the western region; all for the purposes of the ad hoc task force.

'€œThe Navy will continue to conduct its routine operations to defend Indonesian territorial waters,'€ he added.

President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo formally established the task force by issuing Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 115/2015 on Oct. 19.

The task force aims to optimize the use of existing personnel and operational facilities from various institutions '€” including vessels, aircraft and other technologies '€” to eradicate illegal fishing in the country.

Resources will be deployed from the fisheries ministry, the Navy, the National Police, the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO), the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla), the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) and state-owned oil and gas operator Pertamina, as well as other relevant institutions.

In her role as task force leader, Susi will be supported by the Navy deputy chief of staff, the Bakamla head, the National Police'€™s Security Maintenance Agency (Baharkam) chief and the AGO'€™s junior prosecutor for general crimes (Jampidum).

Susi said the new task force emerged from the President'€™s vision to integrate surveillance and law enforcement functions under one roof, with the exception of courts to ensure objectivity in upholding the rule of law.

'€œThe presence of a presidential task force is [...] important and relevant, with many foreign vessels still fishing illegally in our waters. This requires quick, stern and integrated responses from the government,'€ Susi said in a statement late on Friday.

'€œOnly with such integration can Indonesia cement its status as a global maritime axis.'€

Mas Achmad Santosa, the head of the illegal fishing prevention task force that is also under Susi'€™s command, said that the standard operational procedures for surveillance and law enforcement in this cross-institutional arrangement were currently being drafted and would soon be introduced.

Previously, lawmakers, believing that the presidential regulation to form the task force transgressed the law, urged Jokowi to either retract it or strengthen coordination among existing law enforcers.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Effendi Simbolon, who is a member of House Commission I overseeing defense, raised doubts as to whether the provision had undergone all the necessary procedures prior to being signed off by the President.

'€œThe military is placed under the command of an institution outside its own jurisdiction. If any ministry can harness such power through a Perpres, things will get complicated down the line. I just hope that this isn'€™t a result of ignorance,'€ Effendi told reporters on Friday.

Effendi urged the President to revoke the regulation or amend it, arguing that the chain of military command would be disrupted if Perpres No. 115/2015 went unaddressed. Democratic Party lawmaker Herman Khaeron said the government would be better off optimizing the work of existing law enforcers by giving them more specific instructions to combat illegal fishing.

'€œWhile I wholeheartedly approve of increasing the effectiveness of anti-illegal fishing initiatives, I believe [...] that forming another task force will simply increase the burden on the available fiscal space,'€ Herman said on Friday.
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