Two foreign fishing boats carrying 48 Filipino and Vietnamese fishermen were detained for encroaching into Malaysian territorial waters, the second arrest this month.

Miri Division Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency chief Capt Ismaili Bujang Pit said 30 Filipinos were rounded up on one boat and 18 Vietnamese on the other for fishing illegally at about 104 nautical miles off Miri, a coastal town of Sarawak.

Initial investigations reveal they have been fishing illegally since Thursday, he told Bernama today.

Ismaili said the fishermen, aged between 18 and 50, were detained for questioning.

On June 14, a Thai fishing boat was held at about 80 nautical miles off here for trespassing Malaysian waters.