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ndonesia is using the week-long ASEAN meetings in the Philippine capital of Manila to push the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing into the regional spotlight.

While cooperation in the combat against illegal fishing has emerged in the past few years, the government raised the issue in several meetings, including Saturday’s ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Monday’s ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and others.

According to the 50th AMM joint communiqué, a negotiated outcome document compiling the bloc’s stance on various items based on consensus, the foreign ministers noted that the challenge of IUU fishing has become even more complex in the region.

“We are therefore committed to expanding regional cooperation to address this issue, including through supporting the effective implementation of the relevant international laws and instruments,” the communiqué states under the “maritime cooperation” subheading.

The AMM is an annual meeting of ASEAN member states that functions as a forum for addressing issues of common concern.

Meanwhile, as an outcome of the ARF, Indonesia pushed through a statement on Cooperation to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU Fishing, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said.

“This statement on IUU fishing will be one of the outcomes of the ARF meeting,” Retno told reporters on Monday, adding that it has been backed by the United States, Timor Leste and Canada.

The ARF is one of the Asia-Pacific’s key security forums, gathering 10-nation ASEAN and 17 high-contracting parties that include the US, North Korea and the European Union.

International support is mounting for Indonesia to bring IUU fishing up to a higher level of discussion in multilateral forums such as the United Nations, as many countries have voiced similar concerns.

There is, however, still much to be done before illegal fishing is acknowledged as a “transnational organized crime” — one of Jakarta’s main objectives.

As an aspiring regional maritime power, Indonesia has become well known for its hard-line stance on illegal fishing, creating a deterrent by blowing up and sinking foreign vessels caught in the act.

Indonesia has sunk almost 400 boats since Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti took office in October 2014.

Indonesia also took up the issue of IUU fishing during the Southwest Pacific Dialogue (SwPD), a subregional forum focusing on multilateral cooperation between littoral states in the southwest Pacific Ocean. SwPD countries consist of Indonesia, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.

Benjamin Carnadi, the Foreign Ministry’s director for Asia-Pacific and African interregional cooperation, who was present at the talks, said SwPD ministers agreed to pursue concerted efforts to combat IUU activities across the southwest Pacific region.

“They underscored the importance of sustainable use of fisheries and marine resources and the need to share information on marine issues,” Benjamin told The Jakarta Post in a short message on Monday.

Analysts have said the forum evolved out of a need to funnel resources to Timor Leste after its independence, but gradually grew to include development and technical cooperation for the subregion.

On a related noted, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi briefly met with her Timorese counterpart, Hern'ni Coelho, to congratulate his country for recently holding peaceful parliamentary elections.

Retno revealed that neither minister raised the issue of Timor Leste’s bid to enter ASEAN, which had once again fallen on deaf ears with the opposition of Singapore likely to continue.

According to the AMM joint communiqué, ASEAN foreign ministers merely “noted Timor Leste’s application [...] and looked forward to the continued discussion.”

The 24th ARF, 15th SwPD and the ministerial meeting was convened under the banner of the AMM and related meetings, culminating in the grand celebration of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN on Tuesday.

ASEAN was established on Aug. 8, 1967, through the Bangkok Declaration.