Fishy Business in Maritime Sector, as Ship Sinking Directive Goes Lax

Jakarta Globe, Ezra Sihite & Nuriy Azizah Susetyo, Dec 19, 2014

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo is questioning the commitment of his staff to protect Indonesia’s maritime resources, ordering officials to be more serious about sinking foreign vessels caught poaching on Indonesian waters.

“Two months ago I gave a direct order: If any [foreign fishing boats] enter our waters, immediately sink it. I have to repeat the same order up to three times before any action is taken,” Joko said in his speech at the National Development Planning Seminar in Jakarta on Thursday.

“I thought to myself, why must I issue the same order three times. They should have taken action the first time I said it.”

Joko’s speech would likely fuel further speculation that Indonesian security officials have been assisting foreign poachers in exchange for bribes.

Several officers have been sanctioned in the past for assisting boats that encroached Indonesian waters as well as those involved in people smuggling.

Joko also questioned why security officials have so far only sunk around 30 trespassing boats, pointing to a government estimate 90 percent of the fishing vessels operating in Indonesia are foreign boats that operate without permits or have little fear of being sanctioned.

According to the government, Indonesia has lost up to Rp 300 trillion ($24 billion) annually from foreign poachers. To address the problem, the government is planning to increase the number of boats to patrol Indonesia’s vast waters.

The National Police’s Marine Security Division has 678 patrol boats, while the Indonesian Navy has 159 ships.

Both agencies have said that they are well-equipped and have adequate human resources but pointed to a lack of funding to buy fuel as the main reason why their patrols have not been effective.

Last month, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Moeldoko proposed a supply of 350,000 kiloliters of fuel per month to patrol Indonesian waters.

Maritime and Fishery Affairs Miniter Susi Pudjiastuti said the government is planning to recruit 100 of the country’s best sailors annually “to take over Indonesian waters, which is usually controlled by foreign boats.”

Susi said the archipelago hosts some of the finest seamen in the world. “We ask [local leaders] to find 100 future sailors a year. We will train them and send them to [naval] schools overseas,” she said.

Joko has made maritime affairs one of his key programs as part of his ambition to turn Indonesia into a “global maritime axis.”

The president has stated that aside from better protection of its maritime resources, Indonesia is also planning to make the sea the country’s main transportation hub both domestically and internationally.

The government has pledged to build 24 seaports and import up to 2,500 boats as part of the plan to connect Indonesia’s major islands and increase the flow of goods and expedite development in underdeveloped regions.

Engelina Pattiasina, the director of maritime think tank Archipelago Solidarity Foundation, said Joko must first increase the competitiveness of the regions themselves or they will be further marginalized by the influx of migrants and goods from more developed Indonesian areas.

If Joko does this right “the [underdeveloped] eastern Indonesian region will have the chance to realize its potential,” she said.

Joko has established a program to build the country’s shipping industries.

But maritime expert Chandra Motik Yusuf noted that Joko has yet to formulate policies to realize this.

Joko is also keen to assist Indonesian fishermen in increasing their production.

On Wednesday, state-controlled firm Telekomunikasi Indonesia said that it has established 11 “digital fishing villages” where fishermen in the areas can get real-time information via the Internet.

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