F

oreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Tuesday the Papua New Guinean (PNG) government would investigate a recent incident in which the PNG navy allegedly burned an Indonesian boat after forcing the passengers to swim to shore.

Marty said he had talked to his PNG counterpart Rimbink Pato to seek clarification over the incident on Monday.

'€œThe point [of the talks] is that PNG declared its commitment to immediately ascertain the facts about what happened. PNG and its armed forces on the border and our defense attache will directly review this incident,'€ he said. '€œIf this really happened, then we are concerned about it.'€

A group of 10 fishermen, from Kampung Lampu Satu, Merauke, reportedly set off last Thursday from Lampu Satu Beach to buy sea cucumbers in Kadawa village in PNG in a 40-horsepower speedboat.

They were allowed to enter PNG territorial waters after completing document and luggage checks at a naval post. However, the speedboat was reportedly intercepted off Karu on Saturday by the PNG navy, which immediately set the boat on fire and forced the fishermen to swim ashore. Only five of the men made it back to Merauke.

Local officials have condemned the actions of the PNG navy, claiming that the fishermen had their immigration papers checked at the Torasi post before being allowed to enter PNG.

They also said that commercial activities had been conducted for a long time between the residents of Merauke and PNG, and called on the PNG authorities to arrest or charge anyone who violated the law.

Marty confirmed that the group entered PNG territory to trade, although he later said he did not know whether they had permits.

The minister acknowledged that one of the five men who survived had once been arrested in PNG. '€œHe even stayed in the Indonesian Embassy for five months due to involvement in an unlawful act,'€ he said.

TNI commander Gen. Moeldoko said his office would also seek clarification from the PNG over the matter after completing its own investigations into the matter.

He said the military wanted to clarify whether the incident occurred in Indonesian or PNG waters, adding that what the PNG navy was alleged to have done was '€œexcessive'€.

'€œI think such an action is excessive if it is committed by naval personnel,'€ Moeldoko said. '€œWhy should [they] have to use such force?'€

The House of Representatives Commission I overseeing foreign affairs and defense has previously called on the government to seek clarification from PNG on the '€œinhuman treatment'€ of Indonesian fishermen.

During a visit to Jakarta in June last year, PNG Prime Minister Peter O'€™Neill and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed to adopt a '€œsoft'€ approach in border areas so that the citizens of both countries could interact better economically and socially.

The border areas between the two nations are often used by separatists to evade Indonesian security forces.

Saturday'€™s incident took place as Indonesia engaged in a diplomatic spat with Singapore over the naming of an Indonesian Navy frigate after two Indonesian national heroes who were executed in the city-state for carrying out a bombing that killed three people in the 1960s.

Jakarta has also not yet resumed cooperation with Australia following Jakarta'€™s decision last year to recall its ambassador to Canberra in protest of allegations that the southern neighbor attempted to tap the phones of Yudhoyono and his inner circle.

Australia has also insisted on pursuing its controversial policy of returning suspected asylum seekers back to Indonesian waters despite Jakarta'€™s objections.