Indonesia’s navy yesterday confirmed one of its warships had fired warning shots at several Chinese fishing boats in waters off the islands and detained one of the vessels and its seven crew members, but there were no injuries. With Chinese fishing vessels operating in Indonesian territory, “we need to prepare the navy to protect our sovereignty”, he said on June 13, just five days before the incident on Friday. A spokesman for Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Atmadji Sumarkidjo, told the The New York Times that one boat was confiscated and its seven-member crew is being detained.
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She said that when the foreign vessels reportedly dispersed to escape, four Indonesia warships pursued them, ordering that they stop and turn off their engines.
Beijing has protested the incident through diplomatic channels, added her statement, which urged Indonesia not to take any more actions to complicate the situation.
The three are among 57 foreign fishing boats held by Indonesia for poaching since the start of this year, including from Vietnam and Malaysia.
The first rout will link Sanya in the southern Chinese province of Hainan with Yongle, part of the Xisha Islands, known internationally as Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, according to the report.
The United States called on China and other rival claimants Wednesday to exercise restraint when an worldwide tribunal issues a landmark ruling on the South China Sea disputes that Beijing has chosen to ignore.
It was the third reported confrontation near the Natuna Islands this year, and comes amid rising regional tensions over China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea.
While campaigning for office, Mr. Duterte notoriously claimed he would ride a jet ski out to the Spratlys to personally plant the Philippine flag on the disputed island chain, but he has also sent signals he might support Beijing’s preference for direct bilateral talks.
An worldwide arbitration court in The Hague is deliberating a case filed by the Philippines in 2013 against China’s claims in the South China Sea, and its decision is expected in the coming weeks.
Indonesia has repeatedly sought clarification on China’s extensive claim on the sea – which competes with claims made by Vietnam, Philippines and Taiwan.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has countered apparent fears that Cambodia’s position on the South China Sea dispute would cause a split within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The incident happened in “traditional Chinese fishing ground”, the statement said.
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Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi gives a statement at the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta, Indonesia, criticising Chinese action against an Indonesian patrol vessel. Indonesia’s aggressive crackdown on illegal fishing, which began in 2014, has riled several of its neighbours. But it objects to Beijing’s claims because they overlap with its exclusive economic zone around the Natuna.
