The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday summoned Indonesian Representative to Taiwan Robert James Bintaryo over the Southeast Asian country’s frequent inspection of Taiwanese fishing boats, which the ministry said has raised concerns about the use of excessive force.
The ministry said in a statement that Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Winston Chen (陳文儀) lodged a protest with Bintaryo over Jakarta’s boarding and inspection of Taiwanese fishing boats seven times this year.
“While we understand the Indonesian government’s policy to step up efforts to crack down on illegal drug smuggling at sea ... it is against international custom for Jakarta to block the passage of and recklessly inspect our nation’s fishing boats without obtaining concrete evidence of illegal activities,” the ministry said.
Such practices have seriously infringed on the boats’ freedom of navigation, it added.
The ministry’s protest came on the heels of an incident in which a Taiwanese fishing boat, the Da Wei No. 13, was stopped and inspected by Indonesian patrol boats on Tuesday, only one day after it was released.
The boat, carrying seven crew members, was on Sunday seized by Indonesian authorities in the Strait of Malacca while returning to Taiwan. It was later moved to a harbor in Selat Panjang in Indonesia’s Riau Province for inspection.
The Fisheries Agency has protested Indonesia’s treatment of the boat, citing Article 44 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which stipulates that “states bordering straits shall not hamper transit passage and shall give appropriate publicity to any danger to navigation or overflight within or over the strait of which they have knowledge. There shall be no suspension of transit passage.”
Bintaryo pledged to relay to his government the ministry’s demand for an explanation and its concerns, including that Jakarta’s use of excessive force has caused fear and a backlash among Taiwanese fishermen, the ministry said.
“Even though fighting transnational drug smuggling is a common goal of the international community, the protection of fishermen’s rights is also an issue of great importance to Taiwan and Indonesia,” the ministry said.
The ministry called on the Indonesian government to follow in the steps of its Japanese and Philippines counterparts and establish a dialogue mechanism on maritime law enforcement with Taiwan to avoid similar conflicts.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without