he Indonesian Navy is taking down a sea fence of unexplained origin installed in the coastal waters of Tangerang, Banten, that has sparked a debate about the issue of unlicensed marine reclamation.
A group of 600 people, consisting of Navy officers and coastal residents, began dismantling the 30-kilometer-long bamboo fence on Saturday, following orders from President Prabowo Subianto, the Navy said in a statement.
The bamboo fence has been an object of scrutiny since earlier this year, after pictures and videos of it went viral on social media for its “mysterious” origin. Nobody seemed to know who built it or why it had been built in the first place.
An investigation by the Indonesian Marine Police and the Banten Maritime Affairs Office in September 2024 found that the fence was illegal because it did not have the required marine spatial utilization activity (KKPRL) license, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said on Jan. 9.
The ministry closed off the fence on the same day.
But the social media buzz continued, with users taking issue with the unlicensed structure and how it had reportedly impeded fisherfolk’s access to the sea.
The President then ordered the fence’s demolition and a search for the culprit, according to a senior member of Prabowo’s own Gerindra Party last week.
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