CHINA-INDONESIA: MARITIME DISPUTE

 The Associated Press  reported that on March 21, 2016, Indonesia officially protested to China against its Coast Guard retrieving a ship while it was detained for fishing illegally in Indonesian waters. An Indonesian Fisheries Ministry patrol ship had intercepted the Chinese vessel 'Kway Fey' on March 19, 2016, within Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone that overlaps with the southernmost reaches of the South China Sea, and detained eight crewmen. The fishing vessel Kway Fey was being towed when a Chinese coastguard vessel collided with it, allowing its escape. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters after meeting the Chinese Minister-Counsellor, the senior most Chinese diplomat in the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta, that China’s coast guard “violated our sovereignty” and called on China to respect international law. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying meanwhile said in Beijing that the Chinese ship was being “harassed” by an armed Indonesian vessel. Hua Chunying also claimed the incident occurred within traditional Chinese fishing grounds and that the coast guard ship moved to assist the fishing trawler without entering Indonesian territorial waters. She added “China immediately urged Indonesia to release the arrested Chinese fishermen and protect their life safety. We hope Indonesia can make joint efforts with China to properly handle this case, considering the general landscape of the China-Indonesia relations.”



(Comment: Local media reported that a Chinese patrol vessel had earlier snatched back a detained Chinese ship from Indonesian control in 2013.)
 






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