
Jakarta (VNA) – Representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia have visited Vietnamesefishermen who have been temporarily detained on the country’s islands forillegal fishing.
The diplomats had working sessions with the prosecution office and court ofRanai in Indonesia’s Natuna Islands.
Tran Minh Cu, Counsellorof the Vietnamese Embassy, called on the agencies to make fair judgments on thebasis of information provided by the fishermen and lawyers.
The embassy asked the prosecution office to take necessary measures to ensurethe fishermen’s health.
Cu told the fishermen that the embassy will continue to accompany fishermenduring the legal process to protect their rights, asking them to abide by Indonesianregulations.
The embassy will send representatives to attend the trial for the remainingcaptains in mid-January, he affirmed.
The embassy has also asked Indonesian agencies to repatriate a fisherman who hasbeen hospitalised for acute stomachache treatment.
According to the embassy, since the beginning of 2017, 110 Vietnamese fishingboats have caught fish in Indonesia’s waters and about 1,270 fishermen havebeen captured for the violation, compared with 58 boats and 644 sailors in 2015and 109 boats and 1,120 sailors in 2016.
Indonesia has imposed strict measures against illegal fishing. In 2017, thecountry destroyed 103 violating fishing boats, including 66 from Vietnam.
The embassy, sofar this year, has work with agencies of both sides to bring home 1,263fishermen. However, there are still some 170 Vietnamese fishermen detained onIndonesia’s islands.-VNA