Investments sought to develop Natuna fisheries industry

Illegal fishing vessels. (Photo: Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan Republik Indonesia)

Investments sought to develop Natuna fisheries industry

INDONESIAFriday, July 22, 2016, 02:20 (GMT + 9)

Indonesian authorities intend to attract foreign investors to develop fisheries in the Natuna and Riau islands, around which foreign boats seized for conducting illegal fishing activities will be sunk on August 17, the country's Independence Day.

The initiative, aimed at obtaining the means for the country to achieve its annual 1 million ton fish production target, is considered as helpful to contribute to establish peace in the South China Sea, The Jakarta Post reported.

"Last week's Cabinet meeting also decided that we need to establish our own fish market in the area, an international one like what Japan has established," Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan pointed out.

The minister also announced that the Government planned to relocate 4,000 to 6,000 semi-grounded fishing boats from northern Java waters to the Natuna Islands due to declining fish stocks in the former area.

The economic cooperation, which is also expected to create jobs among the local population, is being offered as a way to maintain peace between Indonesia and other claimant states in the South China Sea spat, especially China, who has rejected an international tribunal's ruling that Beijing's claims to the regional sea have no legal basis.

Indonesia's exclusive economic zone, which covers over 2,000 islands in the Natuna waters, overlaps with China's claimed "nine-dash line" quasi-territorial border, which stretches up to 2,000 kilometers away from its mainland.

On the other hand, Minister Pudjiastuti announced she will visit Natuna on July 22 to inspect the construction of a house for traditional fishermen from Java's northern coastal areas (Pantura), who fish in the Natuna waters, Antara News informed.

The minister will also inspect a cold storage facility in Natuna to support fish exports and will attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a detention centre for poachers arrested for conducting illegal fishing in Indonesian waters.

Meanwhile, the ministry's Secretary General, Sjarief Widjaja, stated that the government had allocated IDR 60 billion (USD 457 million) for the construction of a three thousand-ton capacity cold storage and a fish auction centre.

Indonesian Government authorities also announced the decision to build military bases in the Natuna Islands, which coincides with the country's planned deployment of new submarines this year, and Jakarta's declared ambitions to transform Indonesia into a global maritime axis power.

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Source: Investments sought to develop Natuna fisheries industry