No Foreign Fishing Ground in Indonesia's ZEE: Expert

Jakarta, (Antara) - Indonesia has sovereignty over its exclusive economic zone (EEZ)  and no foreign fishing ground in the sea 200 miles from the country's shores, an expert said.

The  Indonesia's ZEE is in line with the international law, Hasyim Djalal, a international sea law professor said commenting on a recent incident when a navy ship seized a Chinese fishing boat  found poaching in Indonesian ZEE off the Natuna  in Southern China sea.

China protested the seizure  saying the fishing boat was operating in China's traditional fishing ground.

"In the ZEE , there is no traditional fishing ground of China," Hasyim Djalal said at a national coordination meeting on Eradication of Illegal Fishing here on Thursday.

Hasyim Djalal pointed to the United Nation Convention on sea law, saying there is a clause of "traditional fishing rights" but not  "traditional fishing ground."

He said  "traditional fishing rights" is also has yet to be formulated with country having sovereignty over the resources in the ZEE.

"The Sea Law Convention regulates the rights over the economic zone," hes aid.

Meanwhile international law professor of the University of Indonesia Melda Kamil Ariadno  said the country's border areas are wide open and could easily be trespassed  by foreign fishing vessels.

The law professor said law enforcement in the border areas is weak  and not integrated .

There are wide areas that could not continue to be controlled, therefore, it is natural if the government has formed a task force of anti IUUF (illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing), Melda said.

The professor expressed appreciation for the tough measure taken by the government in law enforcement against IUUF.

The Indonesian maritime authorities have exploded  and sent to the sea bed  more than 150  fishing vessels found guilty of committing IUUF.

Melda hopes that the government maintained the firm measure hoping it would serve as a deterrent in the future.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has said the Chinese claim of traditional fishing ground in the Indonesian ZEE off Natuna was groundless.

The repeated incident in South China sea is feared to cause a friction in the relations between the two most populous countries in the Asia Pacific rim.

Earlier, a similar incident took place in the Natuna sea when Chinese coast guard force Indonesian maritime authorities to release a Chinese fishing boat caught poaching there.

Indonesia is not involved in the long dispute over Spratly islands sovereignty  in South China Sea involving China and a number of other ASEAN countries  mainly the Philippines and Vietnam.(*)