China protests Indonesian attack on fishing boat
China protests Indonesian attack on fishing boat
Agence France-Presse
Beijing
China has summoned a top Indonesian diplomat to protest after
an Indonesian warship fired on a Chinese fishing boat, killing a
crew member, the foreign ministry said Saturday.
The incident happened Monday in the Arafura Sea between
Indonesia's Papua and Maluku provinces when the navy fired on the
fleeing vessel which was illegally fishing in the area.
One crewmen was killed, and two injured. Ten crew members,
including the wounded, were detained in Indonesia.
Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang on Friday summoned the
Indonesian embassy's charge d'affaires to protest, according to a
statement on the Chinese foreign ministry's website.
Shen, on behalf of the Chinese government, expressed
astonishment and strong dissatisfaction over the navy's
"inhumane" law enforcement.
China and Indonesia, as countries with friendly relations,
should avoid such incidents and deal with future problems in a
"sober and restrained" manner "rather than resorting to use of
force at will," Shen said.
"China hopes the Indonesian government could take effective
measures to discipline the navy and relevant departments, to shun
abuse of force in the course of law enforcement and guarantee no
more incidents of this kind will occur in future," said Shen.
China also requested the Indonesian government do its best to
provide medical care to the wounded and release the detained crew
members and fishing vessel as soon as possible.
The charge d'affaires said the wounded fishermen had been
given good medical treatment and the others were treated well,
according to the statement. The Indonesian side would handle the
incident appropriately, he said.
China plans to send officials to Indonesia to deal with the
incident.
Three other ships, also believed to be illegally fishing in
the area that day, were also hailed by the Indonesian naval
vessel but fled, the Indonesian navy said.
The navy vessel hailed the fourth one, MV Fuyuan 123, which
was flying the Chinese flag, the navy said.
After the boat ignored calls to halt, three shots were fired
into the air before the gun was fired at the side of the Chinese
vessel, which suddenly veered as if trying to collide with the
warship, the navy said.
Chinese state media said 13 shots were fired.
Indonesian naval officials said standard procedures were
followed and the ship was not hit by gunfire until more than five
hours after it was first hailed.
The Indonesian navy has been seeking to crack down on illegal
foreign fishermen.