Indonesian, Vietnamese vessels clash at sea, Indonesian officer held

JAKARTA — Indonesia's maritime authorities detained five Vietnamese fishing boats on suspicion of illegally operating in the country's territorial waters, but a Vietnamese coast guard vessel intervened and freed them, while detaining an Indonesian fisheries officer, Indonesian officials said Tuesday (May 23).

Rifky Hardjanto, secretary general of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Affairs, told a press conference that the Indonesian side managed to detain 11 Vietnamese crewmembers in Sunday's incident, but 44 others escaped with the help of the Vietnamese coast guard vessel.

He said the incident started when an Indonesian patrol boat detected the five Vietnamese fishing boats operating in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone in the Natuna Sea, on the southern edge of disputed South China Sea.

The patrol boat had managed to capture all five of them with a total of 55 crew members when the Vietnamese coast guard vessel intervened, Mr Rifky said, adding that one of the fishing boats sank after the latter's arrival on the scene.

"We don't know the reason yet (why it sank) and both sides will investigate it," he said.

But a source dealing with the incident said the Vietnamese coast guard vessel rammed into the fishing boat while the Indonesian fisheries officer, identified as Gunawan Wibisono, was on it.

When the boat was about to sink, the 44 Vietnamese fishermen who were on it and the other four boats jumped into the sea, from which they were rescued by the Vietnamese coast guard vessel. Eleven others had already been detained by the Indonesian side.

According to the source, Indonesian coast guard personnel searched in vain for Mr Gunawan.

"They tried to contact the Vietnamese coast guard vessel about Gunawan's whereabouts, but no clear explanation was given. Only after being repeatedly asked, the personnel in the coast guard admitted that Gunawan was on board with them," the source said.

The Indonesian side tried to negotiate for his release, but the Vietnamese side made it conditional on the release of the four remaining fishing vessels and their crew members.

The Indonesian patrol boat finally left Mr Gunawan behind after being ordered by headquarters to leave the scene, as radar showed three more Vietnamese coast guard vessels approaching the scene.

An Indonesian warship that was later deployed to the scene failed to find any of the four Vietnamese fishing boats.

Mr Rifky denied that Mr Gunawan has been "taken hostage," though he acknowledged that he has been taken to Vietnam.

He said that during a meeting earlier Tuesday, Vietnam's ambassador to Indonesia told Indonesian Minister of Fisheries and Marine Affairs Susi Pudjiastuti that Mr Gunawan "has been well-treated" and can be sent home anytime.

During the meeting, Mr Rifky said, both sides also agreed to "settle the problem through diplomatic channels" and to "work hard to prevent this kind of incident from happening again in the future."

Indonesia has been cracking down on fishing boats from several countries, mostly Vietnam, illegally operating in its EEZ. KYODO