The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it is looking into an incident in which an Indonesian military vessel allegedly chased and fired warning shots at a Taiwanese fishing boat in the Strait of Malacca late on Saturday, adding that it has voiced its concerns over the incident to Jakarta.
“The Ting Hsing, registered in Pingtung County’s Donggang Township (東港), was stopped and boarded for an inspection by an Indonesian military vessel in the Strait of Malacca at 9:38pm on Saturday,” ministry spokesperson Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) said yesterday.
Meanwhile, Donggang Fishermen’s Association chief executive Lin Han-chou (林漢丑) said the Ting Hsing’s captain, surnamed Tsai (蔡), told him via satellite telephone yesterday morning that personnel from the Indonesian vessel had taken him hostage and only agreed to release him and his ship after he fulfilled their demand that he pay them US$300.
Photo: CNA
However, Indonesian Navy Headquarters Press Office deputy head Yunus Ismail yesterday told the Central News Agency that he has yet to receive any information indicating that a Taiwanese fishing boat was blackmailed.
Yunus said that he was unable to verify the allegations because it was Sunday and pledged to look into the matter soon.
According to the ministry’s preliminary understanding of the incident, Wang said the Indonesian personnel allowed the Ting Hsing and its crew to go following the inspection.
The Taiwanese fishing vessel has resumed operations unaffected, Wang said, adding that the ministry has expressed its concerns over the incident to the Indonesian government via Taiwan’s representative office in Jakarta and its counterpart in Taiwan.
“Our government will voice our extreme indignation over the incident if it is later ascertained that the military vessel was not authorized to board our fishing boat or that the inspection did not conform with standard operating procedures,” Wang said.
Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia Press Information Division director Ismail Mae (買睿明) said the Ting Hsing was pursued by the military vessel in the same sea area where two other Taiwanese fishing boats — the Sheng Te Tsai and Lien I Hsing No. 116 — were chased and fired upon by an Indonesian patrol boat last week.
The Indonesian patrol boat fired dozens of shots at the Sheng Te Tsai and Lien I Hsing No. 116 in the Strait of Malacca on Monday last week, claiming that the ships were fishing in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone and even attempted to ram it after refusing to stop.
Mae said the Ting Hsing’s captain had contacted his family, telling them that personnel from the Indonesian military vessel fired warning shots at his ship before boarding it for the inspection.
“The Ting Hsing was released after the Indonesian personnel examined their documents and confirmed that it was not engaged in any illegal fishing activities,” Mae said.
Official ships and navy vessels are entitled to board and examine Taiwanese fishing ships sailing through Indonesia’s waters, Mae said, adding that fishing boats are obligated to cooperate.
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