SUBANG: The detention of a local fishing boat by Indonesian authorities about 15 nautical miles southeast of Pulau Jarak, Perak, on Tuesday took place in an overlapping claims area so there is no question of the boat or the MMEA vessel having encroached into Indonesian waters.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director-general Maritime Admiral Datuk Seri Zulkifli Abu Bakar said those arrested were five crew members including the skipper, all foreigners working on local fishing boat.
“What happened is that, our fishermen were being detained by Indonesian authorities in an overlapping claims area ... so there is no issue of the MMEA vessel and local fishing boat encroaching into Indonesian waters.
“... the Indonesian enforcement agency knows that it is an overlapping claims area ... but their views differ. They have viralled a video that’s not true,” he said when asked to comment on the arrest of local fishing boats by Indonesian authorities.
He was speaking at a press conference after the official visit by Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to MMEA Subang Maritime Air Station here today.
Zulkifli said all the fishermen had been taken to Indonesia and they were trying to free them with the cooperation of the Foreign Ministry and other relevant agencies.
The three-minute video featuring an MMEA fast interceptor boat approaching a ship believed to belong to the Indonesian enforcement agency to help the detained fishing boat went viral on social media yesterday. — Bernama
