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ndonesia and China are planning to conduct coordinated patrols in the South China Sea to prevent illegal fishing by Chinese fishermen in Indonesian waters.

Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said that initially, the two countries would establish a joint committee to serve as a legal platform for a range of defense cooperations, including coordinated patrols under direct “navy-to-navy talks”.

“The direct naval talks will cover a lot of issues, including on fishing vessels. [Chinese] fishermen often encroach into Indonesian waters, but that’s because they don’t have GPS [global positioning system] devices so are unclear of where the boundaries are,” Purnomo said late Friday after a dinner to welcome visiting Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guang Lie.

“Under a coordinated patrol, if those fishing vessels accidentally cross the border, we will inform them to leave. But please note that we don’t have any bilateral problems [with China],” he was quick to add.

Liang held a bilateral meeting with Purnomo and an informal meeting with other ASEAN defense ministers on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting last week.

Purnomo said he had ordered Deputy Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to draft an agreement with Chinese Ambassador Zhang Qiyue for the establishment of the joint committee.

He added that Indonesia had already established similar joint committees with the US and Malaysia.

Indonesian Navy deputy chief Vice Adm. Marsetio said direct naval talks would help enhance bilateral cooperation between the naval forces of both countries, including maritime security cooperation in the South China Sea, a source of regional concerns.

He said Indonesia was already engaged in coordinated patrols with Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, India and Australia.

“In direct naval talks, we will later discuss numerous issues such as coordinated patrols, cooperation in surveying, or hydrographic surveys, joint exercises and exchange of personnel for training,” Marsetio said. “All this is also aimed at enhancing cooperation in anti-piracy efforts.”

Apart from the direct talks, China has also offered to conduct coordinated patrols with ASEAN member states to escort merchant vessels from the region through the Gulf of Aden as part of joint anti-piracy efforts.

Purnomo welcomed the offer, but did not disclose whether Indonesia would accept it.

An estimated 21,000 ships cross the Gulf of Aden waterway to access the important Suez Canal shipping route.

It is estimated that piracy causes the world community to suffer between US$13 billion and $16 billion in annual losses.

The International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Center, a Malaysia-based NGO, said in a report released April 28 that there were 173 attacks of piracy and 23 hijackings worldwide so far this year. The attacks and hijackings involved 26 vessels and 518 hostages held by
Somali pirates.