LUMUT: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) intercepted 40 Indonesian fishing boats in Malaysia’s territorial waters off Perak yesterday.
Perak MMEA director Maritime Captain Shahrizan Raman said the boats, with one skipper and four crews each, had encroached into several areas located between 28.5 and 30 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Jarak near here.
He said that after intercepting the boats during the Op Benteng operation, MMEA’s KM Rawa vessel escorted them out to the Malaysia-Indonesia maritime borders and told the fishermen not to return.
“KM Rawa gave them a stern warning to stop their fishing activities in Malaysian waters,” he said in a statement today.
Shahrizan said the operation was aimed at preventing illegal entry by foreigners to help the Health Ministry curb the spread of Covid-19.
He said 199 Indonesian fishing boats had been intercepted in Malaysian territory and then escorted out to international waters since March this year. — Bernama
