RP police detain Indonesian poachers

RP police detain Indonesian poachers

MANILA (AFP): Police have seized two Malaysian fishing boats
and arrested seven Indonesian crew members for poaching in
southern Philippine waters, police said yesterday.

A report to the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters
here said the fishing boats were intercepted off Taganak town,
Tawi-Tawi province, about 1,000 kilometers from Manila, on Aug.
23.

Tawi-Tawi police said the fishing boats were owned by ethnic
Chinese Malaysians from Sabah state. The boats were towed to
Taganak and the Indonesians would be turned over to the
Immigration Bureau.

There have been previous incidents of illegal fishing among
residents of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines in these
waters.

Such problems are expected to be addressed by the emergence of
an East ASEAN Growth Area covering the southern Philippines and
nearby areas in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.