The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has pointed out that a local fishing boat was still in Malaysian waters when it was detained by Indonesian authorities yesterday.
The fishing boat with registration PKFB 1689, from Pantai Remis, Perak, was detained, together with its four crew members, a Thai and three Cambodians.
MMEA deputy director-general (Operations) Mohd Zubil Mat Som said it was the fourth such detention by Indonesian authorities in Malaysian waters this month.
“These incidents can be seen as an intrusion by foreign authorities into Malaysian waters and can trigger sensitivity on the country’s maritime sovereignty,” he said in a statement yesterday.
According to him, the MMEA operations centre received a complaint from a local fishing boat owner at about 10.38am on Feb 13 regarding the presence of an Indonesian ship about 55.4 nautical miles west of Pulau Talang, Perak.
At about 10.45am, an MMEA vessel, KM Gagah, was sent to the location.
At the same time, he said, MMEA tracked the movement of the PKFB 1689 boat via the emergency broadcast from the boat’s automatic identification system (AIS) and found that it was still in Malaysian waters.
“Through the tracking system, it was found that the boat was pursued at about 10.38am. Then, at the 58.8 nautical miles mark west of Pulau Talang, it was pulled into Indonesian waters at about 1.29pm towards Medan, Indonesia,” he said, adding that the boat was fixed with the raptor tracking equipment.
According to him, the tracking device showed that the boat’s skipper had pressed the emergency button four times, at 10.30am, 10.31am, 10.32am and 11.10am.
Mohd Zubil said the MMEA had contacted the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the Indonesian Consulate in Penang for more details regarding the incident.
On Feb 2, two local boats - KHF1980 and KHF 2598 - were detained by Indonesian authorities at 68.6 nautical miles south-west of Penang and 3.3 nautical miles respectively inside the Exclusive Economic Zone area.
“Based on their movement records, the AIS showed that the boats were detained while still in Malaysian waters,” he said, adding that both the boats were at the PSDKP base, Lampulo Acheh, Indonesia.
On Feb 3, another boat, PKFB 1593, was detained by the TNI AL-KRI Lemadang 632 at about 57.1 nautical miles from Tg Piandang, Kerian, Perak.
Mohd Zubil said that based on information from the owner, the boat is believed to be in Belawan, Indonesia.
He said the Foreign Ministry had been asked to issue a diplomatic note to protest the incidents, which occurred in Malaysian waters.
“We will step up our patrols and surveillance, especially in overlapping areas,” he said, adding that fishermen should be careful not to intrude into the waters of neighbouring countries.
He also encouraged local boat owners to instal the AIS or the Vessel Tracking System to facilitate the tracking of their boats for proof of the boats’ exact locations.
- Bernama
