It’s not just the South China Sea: Vietnamese vessels in Indonesian waters show extent of maritime disputes in Asean

Of the 31 foreign-flagged ships illegally fishing in Indonesia’s North Natuna Sea from June to October, 21 were from Vietnam while none were from China

The findings are from activist group Destructive Fishing Watch Indonesia, which has called on Jakarta to take action against this ‘aggressive’ encroachment

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Indonesian coast guard personnel detain a Vietnamese fishing vessel near the Natuna islands in July. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:06pm, 2 Nov 2020Updated: 4:22pm, 2 Nov 2020

An activist group has called on Jakarta to take action against the increasing encroachment of Vietnamese fishing boats into Indonesia’s territorial waters, highlighting the complex nature of maritime disputes in the region that go beyond China’s claim to most of the South China Sea.

Vietnamese ships made up 21 of the 31 foreign-flagged vessels that carried out illegal fishing in Indonesia’s North Natuna Sea from June to October, according to Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW) Indonesia. None were found to have originated from China.

Indonesian government figures show that 23 foreign-flagged ships were seized by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries during the same period last year, four of which were Vietnamese while none were Chinese.

DFW Indonesia national coordinator Moh Abdi Suhufan said the Indonesian government should increase surveillance and launch more military patrols in the waterway. The Vietnamese ships were aggressive, he said, and would either try to flee or crash into the monitoring vessels operated by the maritime affairs and fisheries ministry.

An Indonesian official points to the location of the North Natuna Sea. Photo: Reuters

“Perhaps they have seen in several months there has been no burning and sinking of [illegal] ships, so they think Indonesia is reducing supervision and [deterrence of] foreign fishing vessels that carry out illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” Abdi said, referring to the crackdown implemented by former fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti, who left the government in 2019.