Indonesian Navy Sinks Three Philippines Fishing Boats

Surabaya, E.Java (Antara) - Personnel from the Eastern Fleet Command sunk three Philippines fishing boats in Navy Base waters in Sorong, West Papua, on Wednesday. \"The three boats entered the Indonesian marine territory by flying the Indonesian flag and using Indonesian names on them,\" the Commander of the Eastern Fleet Command, Rear Admiral Darwanto, stated here Wednesday. In an official statement received by Antara in Surabaya, West Java, the Commander stated that the Indonesian flag and names meant they had some intention to commit illegal acts. \"The destruction of the three fishing boats by sinking was based on the Chairman of Sorong District Court No. 02/Pen.Pid/2015/PN.SON dated February 17, 2015,\" Darwanto said. The destruction of the boats was also in accordance with the Law on Fisheries 45 of 2009, Article 69, Paragraph 4. Of the three boats sunk, two were foreign fishing boats and one was an Indonesian fishing boat. The first boat was Jebo-05 with Captain Ariston from the Philippines. The Philippines-flagged fishing vessel weighed 50 GT with a crew of 21, all of them Filipinos. The ship had sailed from the Philippines to a fishing ground in the waters of West Papua province. \"The violations committed by the ship\'s crew included plying undocumented vessels. When we intercepted them, the ships were unloading tuna,\" Darwanto noted. (*)