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RI to mark Aug. 17 by sinking 3 Chinese fishing boats
Susi Pudjiastuti - JPA minister may ratchet up the already tense relations between Jakarta and Beijing to a new level with her plan to blow up three Chinese fishing boats and the dispatch of 400 Indonesian vessels to fish in waters unilaterally claimed by China
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Susi Pudjiastuti - JP
A minister may ratchet up the already tense relations between Jakarta and Beijing to a new level with her plan to blow up three Chinese fishing boats and the dispatch of 400 Indonesian vessels to fish in waters unilaterally claimed by China.
Emphasizing Indonesia’s refusal to succumb to China’s might, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said the three boats would be among 71 foreign fishing vessels listed to be sunk for poaching during the celebration of the 71st anniversary of Indonesian independence on Aug. 17.
Several of the vessels will be destroyed in the waters of Natuna Islands, which lie the closest to a demarcation used by China as the basis of its claim to around 90 percent of the resource-rich South China Sea — a claim rejected last week by a UN tribunal.
“I want to celebrate Independence Day this year in Natuna, where I will witness the sinking of many foreign vessels,” Susi said on Monday.
Susi said the legal status of one of the three Chinese vessels was already binding while the others were still awaiting court decisions scheduled to be issued before Aug. 17.
“I expect the three can be sunk together on Aug. 17 with dozens of other vessels in Natuna,” she said.
“Anyway, this is not just about China because we will destroy all foreign vessels without favor.”
Indonesia destroyed 176 foreign vessels, including one from China, between October 2014 and April 2016 for poaching in Indonesian waters.
Jakarta’s particularly firm stance toward Beijing came after Indonesian authorities almost came to blows with China’s coast guard on two occasions this year in the course of attempts to detain Chinese fishing vessels for alleged poaching.
China’s maneuvers in the waters have hinged on its decision to include Natuna waters within its self-declared nine-dash demarcation line, and its description of the waters as its “traditional fishing grounds”.
China is Indonesia’s biggest trading partner, and recently channeled billions of dollars in loans for Indonesia’s infrastructure development.
Susi said she would fly to Natuna on Friday to prepare the Independence Day celebrations as well as to establish housing for hundreds of fishermen from Java’s northern coastal area whom the government have deployed to Natuna.
The government is providing 400 ships for the fishermen to operate in Natuna. Their presence will assist the ministry’s anti-illegal fishing task force, the Navy and the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) in their task of clearing the area of foreign poachers.
Susi will also set up cold-storage facilities, integrated fishing facilities for fishermen and detention centers for arrested illegal poachers in Natuna, as well as witnessing the groundbreaking of the Navy’s Command and Control Center (Puskodal) in the islands.
Bakamla chief Rear Adm. Ari Soedewo said that following President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s recent visit to Natuna and China’s decision to assert its presence in the South China Sea, especially since losing the arbitration case, Indonesia had intensified patrols in the area to protect its sovereignty.
“There are around 10 warships now patrolling in Natuna. If we don’t do that foreign poachers will come to steal our fish,” Ari told The Jakarta Post, adding that many foreign vessels had attempted to enter Natuna recently but they ended up leaving the area after seeing the intensive patrols by Indonesian maritime authorities.
However, blowing up ships as Independence Day fireworks does not come cheap. Natuna’s Ranai naval base commander Col. Arif Badrudin told the Post recently that the government spent around Rp 370 million (US$28,000) simply on preparing six vessels for sinking in Natuna in April.
“That cost excludes the explosives. That’s only for paying for the fuel for the Navy ships towing and guarding the vessels to their resting place, and for the manpower to carry out the job. We have to summon a dozen demolition experts from Jakarta to do it,” he said.
He estimated that cost of explosives and their preparation could amount to more than Rp 300 million for the six vessels.
