Philippines nets Malaysian boats

Philippines nets Malaysian boats

MANILA (AFP): Two Malaysian-registered fishing vessels with
mostly Indonesian crew members have been intercepted poaching off
the southern Philippine island of Tawi-Tawi, officials said on
Sunday.

The skippers of the Malaysian vessels, Harianto bin Majih and
Usman bin Sideke, denied that they were poaching and claimed they
were only seeking shelter in the area after encountering engine
trouble last week, police said.

Both men, along with their eight Indonesian crew, were taken
to Tawi-Tawi's police headquarters where formal charges are being
prepared against them.

Poaching has been a recurring problem in southern Philippine
seas despite joint patrol efforts with Malaysia, whose Sabah
state is just minutes away by boat from the main southern island
of Mindanao.