Indonesia officials release another 100 Vietnamese fishermen
VOV.VN - Indonesian authorities have agreed to release an additional 100 Vietnamese fishermen and launch a joint investigation with Vietnamese authorities into a sea incident that occurred this past weekend.
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The incident began when an Indonesian sea patrol intercepted Vietnamese fishing boats with 55 crew on Sunday (May 21) after they crossed into Indonesian waters near the Natuna Islands, said Rifky Effendi Hardijanto, secretary general of Indonesia's Fisheries Ministry.
Hardijanto told a news conference that officials of the two governments have agreed to settle this incident through diplomatic means.
The two countries' diplomatic departments have contacted each other and worked together to handle the situation and make sure similar cases do not happen, said Vietnam Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan.
Indonesia had sought Vietnam's assurance it would not enter its territorial waters again, Hardijanto said.
He said the countries would also discuss border issues, since Indonesia defined its border based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), while Vietnam used the continental shelf.
Forty of the fishermen were released on May 23 and sent home via flights out of the Soekarno Hatta Airport. The remainder will catch flights home from the airport over the next couple of days.
