ID :
78883
Mon, 09/07/2009 - 23:25
Auther :

News Focus: INDONESIA, PHILIPPINES TO STEP UP BORDER SECURITY

By Eliswan Azly
Jakarta, Sept 7 (ANTARA) - In order to minimize rampant poaching, smuggling by foreigners and possible flow of unexpected terrorists across sea borders, Indonesia and the Philippines will step up security by increasing the number of fast patrol boats.

To enhance border security between the two countries, the National Defense Forces (TNI) would send more patrol boats to the border, TNI Chief Gen Djoko Santoso said here on Monday.

"We will soon increase the number of fast patrol boats in the waters between Indonesia and the Philippines," Santoso said on the sidelines of his working visit to Central Sulawesi and Maluku.

His side wanted to procure around 100 new patrol boats and about half of them would be deployed in the waters bordering Indonesia and the Philippines in 2010, Santoso said.

However the crisis in the sea border is often related to crimes committed in the seas. Because of illegal fishing Indonesia was reported to have lost 50 percent of marine resources.

More tragic is that the poachers have shown no fear of Indonesian patrols, who are either outnumbered or poorly armed, director general of monitoring and control at the marine and fishery ministry, Aji Sularso, said earlier
According to Santoso, security in the sea border should be enforced and therefore cooperation between the Indonesian Defence force (TNI) and Philippine Armed Forces should be able to ensure security in these waters. "However the cooperation had been running quite well between two countries' armed forces."
"We have a Joint Border Committee (JBC) to discuss various issues related to the two countries' border, including territorial waters security and joint patrols," Santoso said.

Meanwhile, Wirabuana Military Commander May Gen Djoko Susilo said the security situation in the border between Indonesia and the Philippines was conducive.

"There is no problem in the border security. Everything runs normal and under control because the patrol elements are working according to procedures which have been set and agreed on by both sides," Susilo said.

He said the border between Indonesia and the Philippines is prone to smuggling and terrorism, and therefore border security should be doubled.

Indonesia has to try hard to prevent the sea border from smuggling and poaching, former Minister of Maritime Exploration Sarwono Kusumaatmadja earlier said such illegal fishing by foreigners in Indonesian waters had cost the country an estimated US$4 billion in revenue every year.

Therefore, increasing security control in the sea was a good step to prevent the state from further losses in the future, he said.

Sarwono noted that the foreigners were getting more of Indonesia's maritime resources than Indonesians themselves, while this country itself only earned some US$2.2 billion from its fishing sector.

"It's our water and fish, but we ourselves are losing. It's ridiculous, he said, adding that illegal fishing activities were mostly committed by foreign poachers from the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and China and some other neighboring countries that had no cooperation agreement with the government of Indonesia.

In fact, the poachers often used high technology in fishing, causing difficulty to Indonesian patrol boats to detect their presence.

"The illegal fishermen show no respect for our national law. The shoot-and-sink policy will be part of a show of force to deter them," he said.

Aji said illegal fishing had become out of control, as it was "threatening Indonesia's economic and territorial sovereignty".

Under the Indonesian fishery Law No. 31/2004 on fisheries, the ministry's patrol guards are authorized to carry guns. But in particular, the law concerned is designed to accommodate the needs and challenges of developing the fishing industry and to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal fishing.

The Indonesian government has been criticized for being "too lenient" in releasing and allowing Filipino fishermen to repatriate and reunite with their families. They would usually give one of two reasons, either citing humanitarian reasons or a lack of funds to provide basic needs and shelter.

In addition, hundreds of confiscated foreign-flagged fishing vessels are now crowding dozens of seaports across Indonesia.

They are corroding, if not sinking and already wrecked, while waiting for legal processing, which could take years to complete. But no specific budget has been allocated for their maintenance.

Indonesia, which loses US$4 billion a year to poaching, is desperate to beef up its fishery patrol fleet, which currently consists of only 21 vessels. Securing the fishing boats could at least reduce the losses the country suffers.

Last year the government established five ad hoc fishery courts in Jakarta, Medan (North Sumatra), Pontianak, Tual island in Maluku and Bitung (North Sulawesi) in a bid to cut short the prolonged legal process against poachers, particularly those from overseas.

However, the ad hoc courts do not help achieve the goal as law enforcers are often divided over how to settle poaching cases.

Maintaining this policy would risk Indonesia's interest, not only will it send the wrong message on how Indonesia upholds the law, but it could also lead to an increase in the frequency of illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing in Indonesia.

Unfortunately, until now Indonesia has not established a special committee to deal with illegal fishing cases. The government tends to rely on a sectoral approach in handling such cases. Coordination between related government agencies is weak and would not be applied on a regular basis. A fisheries court has not been established either.

Indonesia and the Philippines have established a mechanism of Joint Commission on bilateral cooperation. The two countries have also signed an MoU on Marine and Fisheries Cooperation in General Santos, the Philippines, on Feb. 23, 2006.

However, the two countries have not yet established a bilateral arrangement to table particular issues of fishermen.

***4***



X