Susi, as commander of the 115 Task Force, led the destruction of the boats from her office through live streaming. The force consists of officers from the ministry, the Navy and the National Police.

“The sinking of the boats is to enforce the law and to protect the sovereignty of our territory to ensure that the sea is the future of our nation,” said Susi as reported by kompas.com. The 13 boats were registered in Vietnam and 10 in Malaysia.

The sinking began simultaneously at 11 a.m. in seven location across the country and is legal under Law No. 31/2014 on the fisheries industry, she added.

In West Kalimantan, two boats were sunk in waters around Datok Island, Mempawah regency. “The fishing boats were seized in late February,” said West Kalimantan Police chief Brig. Gen. Arief Sulistyanto on Tuesday.

The two boats were among dozens of fishing boats caught fishing illegally by the water police, said Arief, adding that he appreciated local people’s efforts to inform the police about the foreign boats’ illegal activities.

“We got information from local people about the operation of dozens of foreign boats that came from Subi isle heading to Sempadi isle. We followed up on the information,” he said as quoted by tempo.com.

The two boats were flying Indonesian flags in an attempt to fool the authorities.

The Indonesian government has sunk dozens of foreign fishing boats after they were caught operating illegally in Indonesian waters, following intensive operations involving the Navy, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry and the water police. (bbn)

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