Indonesia urged to probe fishing incident
By Hu Meidong (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-24 06:49

FUZHOU: China has urged Indonesia to investigate the actions of one of its warships that fired on four Chinese fishing boats on Monday, killing one Chinese fisherman and injuring two others.

Officials have also asked for evidence that the boats involved were conducting "illegal fishing" at the time of the shooting.

The dead man has been identified as Nie Weiqiang. The two wounded men, who the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta say are in hospital and out of danger, have been named as Wang Heping and Yuan Wenyong.

Liu Changbiao, a senior official with the Marine and Fishing Administration of Fujian Province in East China, said Indonesian authorities should use administrative or legal measures, rather than military means, when dealing with foreign boats suspected of illegal fishing.

"The Indonesian navy should by no means open fire on unarmed fishermen," Liu told China Daily on Friday.

Liu said his administration was sending officials to Indonesia to help local authorities deal with the fallout.

One of the four Chinese boats fired upon was hit in the incident in Indonesia's Arafuru Sea off Papua Island, the others escaped unscathed.

The 10 uninjured crewmen from the boat which was hit, the Fuyuanyu 132, are still being detained by the Indonesia navy.

According to agreements between China and Indonesia, nearly 400 Chinese fishing boats are allowed to fish in Indonesian waters. Each boat pays 1 million to 1.5 million yuan (US$123,000-185,000) to the Indonesian Government annually for a licence to fish.

Liu said nearly 100 boats from Fujian have obtained such permits, and his administration has been checking the use of the permits to avoid similar tragedies happening again.

Indonesia has tightened supervision of illegal fishing in its waters over the past few years and naval intervention, including the firing of shots, is far from unknown.

Nearly 100 Chinese boats have been detained by the Indonesian navy for alleged illegal fishing.

The fishing boat involved in the latest incident belongs to the Oceanic Fishing Group Co Ltd of Pingtan County in Fujian. The company General Manager Bao Lin said his company has settled with the families of the victims.

(China Daily 09/24/2005 page1)

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