TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Taiwan boats were shot 'in self-defense'
The government insisted on Wednesday that an Indonesian patrol boat that shot at two Taiwanese fishing vessels in the Malacca Strait had acted out of self-defense and in the line of duty
Change Size
T
he government insisted on Wednesday that an Indonesian patrol boat that shot at two Taiwanese fishing vessels in the Malacca Strait had acted out of self-defense and in the line of duty.
An official from the illegal fishing task force (Satgas 115) confirmed on Wednesday that Indonesian patrol boat Hiu 04 (KP 2804) had indeed opened fire on two vessels in a skirmish off the coast of Lhokseumawe, Aceh, on Monday, against two ships sailing without flying any flag.
Satgas 115 staffer Fred Lonan insisted the Indonesian authorities had acted legally.
'All actions taken by the KP 2804 were standard protocol and in line with existing procedures of law enforcement within Indonesia's fisheries area,' Fred said in a statement on Wednesday.
Any parties wishing to do so may make an official complaint to the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, he said.
The KP 2804 belongs to the ministry, Maritime Security Board executive director Rear Adm. Arie Sudewo has confirmed.
Previously, Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Ade Supandi pointed out that the Navy did not own any warships, as the Taiwanese government had alleged, with hull numbers that start with the digit 2, and that all have three-, not four-, digit hull numbers.
____________________________________
'All actions taken by the KP 2804 were standard protocol and in line with existing procedures of law enforcement within Indonesia's fisheries area.'
Fred claimed that the KP 2804 had opened fire in self-defense after the two long-liner fishing vessels had tried to ram it.
The patrol boat, he said, had spotted the two fishing vessels inside Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), with clear indications that they were fishing illegally.
The ships, identifiable only as BJ 4828 and BJ 4746, were spotted early on Monday at 6Ë degrees 15 minutes north and 97Ë 40 minutes east.
Fred claimed that the BJ 4746's fishing lines were clearly visible when it was discovered.
After attempts to alert the BJ 4828 via signal torch, megaphone and radio were ignored, the fishing ship charged at the KP 2804 at high speed, prompting the officers onboard to fire warning shots into the air and steer aside from collision.
With the BJ 4828 evading pursuit, the patrol boat gave chase to the BJ 4746, which was also sailing without flying a flag. The BJ 4746 then also attempted to ram the KP 2804; the latter again fired warning shots and avoided the attack.
The two Taiwanese vessels then fled eastward.
The commander of the Navy's Western Fleet (Armabar), Rear Adm. Achmad Taufiqqoerrochman, confirmed Fred's account, adding that the matter did not fall under his jurisdiction.
Earlier on Tuesday, Taiwan denied that the two fishing vessels were poaching and had attempted to ram the Indonesian patrol boat.
Judging from the speeds of the two fishing boats, as shown in satellite positioning data obtained by Taiwan, it is unlikely they were engaged in fishing activities at the time of encounter, Taiwan Fisheries Agency director general Tsay Tzu-yaw said as reported by focustaiwan.tw.
If in fact the two fishing boats were not involved in illegal fishing, the Indonesian patrol vessels had violated international regulations by shooting at them, Tsay stressed.
He went on that Taiwan's representative office in Indonesia would try to gather more information from the Indonesian side, while Taiwan's representative office in Singapore would question members of the two fishing boats' crews upon arrival.
