KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia yesterday for the first time set fire to a foreign boat for fishing illegally in its waters as it turns up the heat on trespassing trawlers.

The boat was set on fire at sea off the coast of the northern state of Kelantan, the first time the Malaysian authorities have resorted to such action, said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). It did not specify the boat’s country of origin.

The agency’s deputy director-general of Operations, Mr Mohd Taha Ibrahim, said that the disposal of foreign fishing boats was previously carried out by sinking them, after which they would become artificial reefs.

However, Mr Taha said, the sinking method did not deter foreign fishermen from encroaching on the country’s waters. “Incinerating boats is an alternative way to deliver a clear message to locals and foreigners that the government is always alert and serious in curbing the intrusion of foreign fishermen into the country,” he noted.

He added that the MMEA has been conducting systematic operations and explained that the disposal process usually takes a while to be completed as the MMEA needs to get legal approval. After the court gives its approval, the agency then decides to carry out the disposal process by burning the boats, Mr Taha said. The MMEA also needs to seek approval from the Department of Environment to conduct the burning process at sea.

The Malaysian authorities have so far sunk 285 foreign fishing vessels nationwide to create artificial reefs. But the method has not made a major impact on foreign fishermen operating illegally in Malaysian waters.

Porous maritime borders are a constant problem for Malaysia and its South-east Asian neighbours, which struggle to keep foreign fishing vessels from operating illegally in their waters.

Early last year, more than 100 Chinese fishing vessels were detected off the East Malaysian state of Sarawak, while in April, Indonesia sank 81 mostly foreign boats caught illegally fishing in its waters.

Since President Joko Widodo launched a battle against illegal fishing in 2014, Jakarta has sunk more than 300 foreign boats after they were caught. Most of them are from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

In 2014, Indonesia estimated that illegal fishing was costing it 101 trillion rupiah (S$10.1 billion) a year.

The tougher policy on illegal fishing has at times caused tension with Indonesia’s neighbours. Last year, a Chinese coast guard vessel intervened when Indonesia attempted to detain a Chinese vessel for fishing illegally in waters near the disputed South China Sea. AGENCIES