The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday summoned Indonesian Representative to Taiwan Robert James Bintaryo over the Southeast Asian country’s frequent inspection of Taiwanese fishing boats, which the ministry said has raised concerns about the use of excessive force.
The ministry said in a statement that Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Winston Chen (陳文儀) lodged a protest with Bintaryo over Jakarta’s boarding and inspection of Taiwanese fishing boats seven times this year.
“While we understand the Indonesian government’s policy to step up efforts to crack down on illegal drug smuggling at sea ... it is against international custom for Jakarta to block the passage of and recklessly inspect our nation’s fishing boats without obtaining concrete evidence of illegal activities,” the ministry said.
Such practices have seriously infringed on the boats’ freedom of navigation, it added.
The ministry’s protest came on the heels of an incident in which a Taiwanese fishing boat, the Da Wei No. 13, was stopped and inspected by Indonesian patrol boats on Tuesday, only one day after it was released.
The boat, carrying seven crew members, was on Sunday seized by Indonesian authorities in the Strait of Malacca while returning to Taiwan. It was later moved to a harbor in Selat Panjang in Indonesia’s Riau Province for inspection.
The Fisheries Agency has protested Indonesia’s treatment of the boat, citing Article 44 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which stipulates that “states bordering straits shall not hamper transit passage and shall give appropriate publicity to any danger to navigation or overflight within or over the strait of which they have knowledge. There shall be no suspension of transit passage.”
Bintaryo pledged to relay to his government the ministry’s demand for an explanation and its concerns, including that Jakarta’s use of excessive force has caused fear and a backlash among Taiwanese fishermen, the ministry said.
“Even though fighting transnational drug smuggling is a common goal of the international community, the protection of fishermen’s rights is also an issue of great importance to Taiwan and Indonesia,” the ministry said.
The ministry called on the Indonesian government to follow in the steps of its Japanese and Philippines counterparts and establish a dialogue mechanism on maritime law enforcement with Taiwan to avoid similar conflicts.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by