Reports of the ship-sinking incident prompted fisheries authorities to suspend joint maritime patrols before the issue was put to rest.
ndonesia on Thursday resumed the Jawline-Arafura joint maritime patrols with Australia after clearing up what appeared to be a mix-up of information on the interception and sinking of Indonesian fishing vessels allegedly caught poaching off the northern coast of Western Australia.
Reports of the incident stirred fresh debate between the neighbors earlier this week, with one Australian maritime official accusing Jakarta of failing to provide for its fishermen, which in turn prompted them to stray into Australian waters to fish.
Both sides have since sorted out the misinformation with regard to the incident and resumed their joint patrols.
The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry’s director general for marine resources and fisheries surveillance (PSDKP), Rear Adm. Adin Nurawaluddin, said in a statement on Thursday that the ministry had dispatched its Orca-03 fisheries vessel and airborne surveillance units to take part in the joint operation. He emphasized that both Indonesia and Australia had the same concerns over “escalating cross-border violations” in the fisheries sector.
The confusion began when Australia’s Maritime Border Command (MBC) announced that it had intercepted 16 vessels operating in the Rowley Shoals, about 160 miles off the nearest Australian coast. The authorities proceeded to escort 13 of the boats out of Australian waters and destroyed three others as a deterrence measure.
The MBC statement was published on Monday, just days ahead of the Jakarta leg of Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne's tour of Southeast Asia. Payne met with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi in the capital on Wednesday to broach a number of bilateral issues.
Knee-jerk reaction
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