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Jakarta / AFP
Indonesia on Monday defended opening fire on Chinese sailors as an action aimed at stopping illegal fishing, after the latest confrontation between the nations in the South China Sea.
Beijing has protested strongly over clash near Indonesia’s Natuna Islands, saying one Chinese fisherman was injured. The Indonesian navy said that seven sailors and a Chinese-flagged vessel were detained but insisted no one was hurt.
It was the third such skirmish in recent months between Indonesia and China near the Natunas, which are west of Borneo, as tensions rise between Beijing and several nations over its growing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
Unlike some of its Southeast Asian neighbours, Indonesia does not dispute ownership of reefs or islets in the sea. But there have been tensions as Beijing’s claims overlap with Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone around the Natunas.
Indonesian Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, who is leading a campaign to crack down on illegal fishing, defended the navy’s actions.
“The Indonesian navy made the right move by maintaining the sovereignty of our seas,” she tweeted. “The shooting was definitely according to procedure.” She added that “stealing fish is a crime. It is impossible that there is an agreement between countries that allows for stealing fish”.
President Joko Widodo met with Security Minister Luhut Panjaitan on Monday following the clash and ordered him to defend Indonesia’s sovereignty, presidential spokesman Johan Budi said. “The president ordered him to defend Indonesia’s territorial sovereignty that we have struggled to build up since our independence,” he said.
But he added the president wanted this to be done without “affecting good relations”. Indonesia’s aggressive crackdown on illegal fishing, which began in 2014, has riled several of its neighbours.
China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday the latest clash took place in “traditional Chinese fishing ground” where the two countries have overlapping maritime claims.