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fter almost two months of plain sailing, patrol authorities have again found foreign boats encroaching the country’s waters for fish.

The government’s bold move to sink 71 foreign vessels for poaching to celebrate the 71st anniversary of Indonesian independence on Aug. 17 had quieted the seas for a while.

But entering October, the poachers had returned, especially in Natuna, raising doubts on the effectiveness of the sinking policy.

In the first two weeks of the month, the authorities seized a total of 32 foreign fishing vessels, including the latest arrests of two Vietnamese ships caught fishing in Natuna waters on Sunday by the Navy’s Western Region Fleet Command (Koarmabar).

On Friday, the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) also caught four vessels, three Vietnamese and one Malaysian, in Natuna.

In addition, between Oct. 7 and Oct. 12, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry’s Task Force 115 for Eradicating Illegal Fishing also arrested three and four ships from Malaysia and the Philippines, respectively, in Natuna and Sulawesi waters.

The countries of origin of two remaining ships remain unknown.

Meanwhile, the water police unit (Polair) arrested five ships from Vietnam, one from Malaysia and one of an undetermined origin. The Indonesian Navy also seized 10 ships, including six from the Philippines, two from Malaysia, one from Taiwan and one from Vietnam.

Task Force 115, Koarmabar, Bakamla, Polair and the Eastern Fleet (Koarmatim) are key stakeholders in Indonesia’s fight against illegal fishing with the task force acting as the leading body.

From mid-August to late September the government did not sink any ships, which might have inspired foreign poachers to resume operations in Indonesian waters in October. Indonesia has no plans to sink any vessels in the near future.

The ministry had softened its stance on foreign vessels caught illegally fishing by sinking them instead of destroying them with bombs.

Unlike during previous sinkings in which the press were invited for coverage, the August sinking was held without media coverage. Nationwide coverage of sinkings had attracted protests from neighboring countries, especially China.

As part of the August sinking, the ministry planned to take down three Chinese fishing vessels in Natuna near the South China Sea, but it voided the plan and opted instead to house the vessels at an anti-illegal fishing museum in Pangandaran, West Java.

The move was taken allegedly because Indonesia did not want to heat up the already tense relationship between Jakarta and Beijing prior to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou on Sept. 2.

Task Force chairman Mas Achmad Santosa denied that the sinking policy had failed to deter foreign poachers, adding that they waited for an opportunity to come back to Indonesian waters because they thought Indonesia had fewer ships on patrol after the August sinking.

“But we are, in fact, increasing patrol, even in the outer islands. They probably think that our sea is very vast and that we have limited fleets to secure our sea. We are increasing coordination between stakeholders every day,” Achmad told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The latest arrests, according to Achmad, have proven that all stakeholders are now working well to curb any illegal fishing activities.

Bakamla spokesman Mardiono said foreign poachers have continued to return because of the abundance of fish.

Indonesia destroyed 176 foreign vessels, including one from China, between October 2014 and April 2016.