By Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Ben Blanchard
JAKARTA/BEIJING, March 20 (Reuters) – Indonesia will summon China’s ambassador over an incident involving a Chinese fishing vessel in the Natuna Sea, a minister said on Sunday, as Beijing accused it of attacking the ship in traditional Chinese fishing grounds.
The move comes amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea over China’s land reclamation there and over its claims on vast swathes of an important shipping corridor. Several Southeast Asian countries have overlapping claims in the area.
Indonesia was attempting to detain the Chinese vessel for fishing illegally in waters near the contested South China Sea when a Chinese coast guard vessel intervened, fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti told reporters in Jakarta.
“What we will ask the ambassador is that if they say their nine-dash line does not claim Natuna then why is there still illegal fishing happening there,” Pudjiastuti said, adding the ambassador will be summoned by the foreign ministry on Monday.
“Their government should not stand behind illegal and unregulated fishing,” she said.
China’s foreign ministry, in a statement sent to Reuters, said the trawler was carrying out “normal activities” in “traditional Chinese fishing grounds.”
“On March 19, after the relevant trawler was attacked and harassed by an armed Indonesian ship, a Chinese Coast Guard ship went to assist,” it said.
“The Chinese side immediately demanded the Indonesian side at once release the detained Chinese fishermen and ensure their personal safety,” the ministry added.
China hopes Indonesia can “appropriately handle” the issue, it said. Indonesian foreign ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.
China claims vast swathes of the South China Sea that are also claimed by several Southeast Asian countries.
Indonesia is not a claimant in the disputed South China Sea, but has raised concerns over China’s inclusion of the resource-rich Natuna Islands in its so-called “nine-dash line.”
China says that it does not dispute Indonesia’s sovereignty over the Natuna Islands. (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.
Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.
Join the 108,747 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was reversing a license given to Chevron to operate in Venezuela by his predecessor Joe Biden more than two years ago, accusing President Nicolas Maduro of not making progress on electoral reforms and migrant returns.
Mexico is working with the United States to reach an agreement on tariffs before an impending deadline, a senior Mexican government official said on Wednesday, and the U.S. recognized its work to control migration and fentanyl trafficking.
When President Donald Trump sat down to lunch with his Japanese counterpart this month, talk turned quickly to how Tokyo could help realise a decades-old proposal to unlock gas in Alaska and ship it to U.S. allies in Asia.
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 108,747 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
