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.