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Indonesian vessel fires 12 bullets into Taiwanese fishing boat

ROC Central News Agency

2016/03/22 22:18:38

Taipei, March 22 (CNA) An Indonesian government vessel that fired upon a Taiwanese fishing boat Monday left the boat with 12 bullet holes, with two bullets passing through the cabin, the Liuchiu Fishermen's Association said Tuesday.

In what it called "a detailed investigation report," the association in Pingtung -- where the two Taiwanese fishing boats involved in the latest incident are registered -- said the two fishing boats were not fishing illegally and were fired at without warning.

Both the Sheng Te Tsai and the Lien I Hsing No. 116 had full loads of fish and were on their way to Singapore at 6 degrees 15 minutes north latitude and 97 degrees 40 minutes east longitude, at the northern entrance of the Strait of Malacca, just over 100 kilometers from the northeastern coast of Sumatra, at around 3 a.m. Monday, according to the report.

It was dark at the time, but the Lien I Hsing No. 116 was suddenly fired at four or five times while being lit up by a spotlight aboard the Indonesian patrol vessel, said the report, adding that the vessel did not appear to have been hit.

The Indonesian vessel chased the Lien I Hsing No. 116 for about half an hour before turning its attention to the Sheng Te Tsai. The patrol vessel spotlighted the Sheng Te Tsai and fired a total of 12 shots. It chased the fishing boat for about an hour before leaving, said the report.

The captain of the Sheng Te Tsai checked his vessel and found the bullet holes, said the fishermen's association.

Both captains told the association that they were not fishing when the incident occurred. Their national flags were not displayed because they had earlier been broken by the wind, but their boats' codes were clearly painted.

The two fishing boats were scheduled to arrive in Singapore to unload their catches at 6 a.m. Thursday and to get resupplied by March 31. The Sheng Te Tsai will then proceed to another fishing area, while the Lien I Hsing No. 116 will return to Taiwan.

Indonesian authorities claimed that the two Taiwanese boats were poaching in its territorial waters and that they tried to ram the patrol vessel before being fired at.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) demanded that Indonesia provide evidence to support its claims.

(By Kuo Chih-hsuan and S.C. Chang)
ENDITEM/J