T

he Indonesian Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM) have expressed their commitment to protect fishermen operating in unresolved maritime boundary areas (UMBA) in the framework of implementing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on common guidelines.

The commitment was reaffirmed on Thursday by both sides after the dissemination of information about an MoU on common guidelines in Medan, North Sumatra.

Bakamla'€™s Legal Information and Cooperation deputy Commodore Eko Susilo Hadi said that if issues on fishing activities in the UMBAs were not managed properly they could spark conflicts between the two states.

To avoid the conflicts, Eko said, Indonesia and Malaysia had formulated a general guideline for law enforcement officers on how to treat the fishermen in the UMBAs in the form of an MoU on the Common Guidelines Concerning Treatment of Fisherman by Maritime Law Enforcement Agencies of the Republic of Indonesia and Malaysia.

'€œIndonesia and Malaysia hope that fishermen would no longer be caught in UMBAs,'€ Eko told journalists after the meeting with the APMM.

Eko said that if either country needed to take action against fishermen from the other nation, it should be in the form of an inspection or a request to leave the area, except in the case of fishermen who use illegal devices, such as bombs, electrocution devices and chemicals. Eko said they would be processed legally.

Eko acknowledged the differences of the standpoints between Indonesia and Malaysia that caused both countries to often apprehend fishermen, especially regarding misunderstandings concerning traditional fishermen and trawlers.

Eko said most of the Indonesians caught by Malaysian authorities for trespassing in Malaysian maritime territory were traditional fishermen, but Malaysian authorities were of the opinion that those who were arrested were not traditional fishermen because they used large vessels.

On the other hand, he added, Indonesia often arrested Malaysian fishermen who use trawlers, which are banned in Indonesia.

APMM deputy Vice Admiral Dato'€™ Che Hassan Jusoh acknowledged that Malaysia was still of the opinion that traditional fishermen only use small boats. He added that the detained Indonesian fishermen who were caught in Malaysian waters were not traditional fishermen because they used large vessels.

According to APMM data, in 2014 232 Indonesian fishermen had trespassed in Malaysian waters -- 19 of them detained while the others were repatriated. In 2015, 71 fishermen were caught; 32 of them were detained while the rest repatriated.

Hasan said that all Indonesian fishermen who were detained in Malaysia were treated properly.

He added that 12 Indonesian fishermen would be repatriated to Indonesia on Dec. 6, after completing their legal process in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Misnah, whose fisherman husband would be returned home from Malaysia, hoped the repatriation process would run smoothly.

'€œI urge Malaysia to keep its promise to return my husband on Dec. 6. We have been suffering for a long time as there'€™s no one earning a living since my husband was caught on July 2,'€ said Misnah, of Langkat regency, North Sumatra, who attended the meeting.