Thailand and Indonesia poised to forge mutual trade and solve illegal fishing and terrorism

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Thailand and Indonesia poised to forge mutual trade and solve illegal fishing and terrorism

JAKARTA, 23 April 2015 (NNT) – During the Asian-African Leaders Summit in Jakarta, Thai Prime Minister Pruyut Chan-ocha and Indonesian President Joko Widodo have agreed to promote mutual trade and step up cooperative efforts to solve illegal fishing and suppress terrorism.

During a bilateral talk with President Widodo, PM Prayut reiterated Thai investors' readiness to expand investments in Indonesia, adding that the Thai government also looked forward to seeing more Indonesian investors forming businesses in Thailand. The Indonesian leader, meanwhile, suggested that Thai entrepreneurs invest in such industries as processed food, tourism and energy.

Regarding illegal fishing, both sides agreed on the idea of setting up a working group to map out long-term cooperative plans and solutions to ongoing problems in line with the Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Human Trafficking as well as work out strategies for marine conservation.

The two leaders were also of the opinion that Thailand and Indonesia should share intelligence on the movements of terrorist and extremist groups. The Thai government would study ideas and suggestions of its Indonesian counterpart before working out an MOU in this area of cooperation. General Prayut also took this opportunity to thank Indonesia for helping evacuate Thai nationals from Yemen.

-- NNT 2015-04-23

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Indonesia, Thailand, agree to work together on illegal fishing
AFP

JAKARTA: -- Indonesia and Thailand agreed Thursday to set up a joint taskforce on illegal fishing, a lucrative cross-border trade that labour groups claim is responsible for enslaving thousands of workers from across Southeast Asia.

Thai companies have been linked to shadowy fishing operations in Indonesia, a bountiful hunting ground for a blackmarket industry that costs Jakarta an estimated $20 billion in losses every year.

The administration of Indonesian President Joko Widodo has embarked on a hardline campaign against illegal fishing since taking office in October, seizing and scuttling unlicensed vessels.

Some of these vessels have also been suspected of enslaving foreign fishermen, hundreds of whom were returned home earlier this month after being discovered by Indonesian authorities dumped on islands in the country's remote east.

Widodo and Thai army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha -- who took power in a military coup last year -- agreed Thursday to cooperate more closely during a meeting on the sidelines of a conference in Jakarta.

Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said the meeting was "friendly" and both leaders acknowledged more needed to be done.

"Both leaders are going to set up a taskforce to address this issue," he said.

Chan-ocha acknowledged Thailand had its own problems with illegal fishing and was cracking down on the trade within its borders, Nasir added.

The use of slave labour in the fishing industry was highlighted recently after Indonesian company Pusaka Benjina Resources was accused of mistreating and abusing fishermen in eastern Indonesia.

Indonesian authorities later said there a "strong indication" Pusaka was acting as a shell company for Thai fishing operators.

The International Organization for Migration estimates up to 4,000 fishermen may be stranded in remote parts of Indonesia, mostly dumped by illicit fishing operators.

It believes the large majority of those working in the illegal fishing industry in Indonesia are victims of trafficking.

Fishermen from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand are among those said to have been forced to trawl.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-04-23

[Pattaya28]

The mind boggles.

Thailand and Indonesia can combat terrorism

[cornishcarlos]

They'll struggle with the fishing, never mind the terrorism

[webfact]

IUU FISHING ACTIVITIES
Prayut gets Indonesian backing to tackle fishing
The Nation


Workers move fish at a wholesale seafood market in Samut Sakhon yesterday.

BANGKOK: -- Thailand yesterday got a helping hand from Indonesia with President Joko Widodo accepting Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha's proposal to set up a working group on fisheries and related affairs for solving problems resulting from illegal unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing activities in foreign countries' territorial waters.

During the two-day Asian-African Leaders' Summit in Jakarta, which ended yesterday, the two leaders agreed to work together to crack down on the use of illegal labour and IUU practices as well as on protection of marine resources via the Thai-Indonesian working group, which would be headed by Thai deputy premier Prawit Wongsuwan and his Indonesian counterpart.

The crucial bilateral cooperation comes at a time when Thailand's fisheries industry has been given an ultimatum by the European Union with the threat to ban Thai products in its lucrative market if the country did not effectively solve IUU problems within the next six months.

Due to its vast territorial waters and abundant marine resources, Indonesia is one of the foreign countries where the Thai fishing fleet has been operating.

According to Yongyuth Maiyarap, the government's chief spokesman, Thailand and Indonesia will sign a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on fisheries and related affairs shortly.

Prayut said Thailand had solved several problems involving the IUU practices but there had been some delays in enforcing additional measures.

He hoped the EU would be patient and give Thailand the opportunity to complete its task. Several laws are involved in tackling the IUU issue and part of the new regulations are still pending in the National Legislative Assembly. He added that the government had earlier exercised its authority under Article 44 of the interim charter to speed up the setting-up of one-stop service centres and would ensure those violating the new fisheries and related laws would be heavily penalised.

Deputy PM and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said the government will issue an emergency regulation to effectively solve problems related to IUU practices within the next three months so that the EU may issue a "green" card to Thailand's fisheries sector, which was given the "yellow" card earlier this week. The "yellow" card could lead to a ban on Thai fishery products in the EU market, which is worth Bt20 billion to Bt30 billion annually.

Prawit said he would chair the meeting on solving IUU problems every week, working closely with the agriculture, labour and foreign ministers, as well as their permanent secretaries besides the Navy commander-in-chief and the director-general of Harbour and Fisheries departments.

The government's emergency decree will cover measures to solve illegal fishing, unregulated fishing, and unreported fishing in Thai waters and foreign countries' territorial waters where Thai-registered boats are operating.

EU officials to observe progress

The EU is expected to send a team of officials to observe progress on solutions to the IUU issue next month before it makes the decision whether to ban Thai fishery products in its market later this year.

Thailand's new fisheries act will include measures that would modernise regulations for the Thai fishing fleet and other related issues so as to meet EU and international standards.

Over the next two months, Prawit said a task force will be responsible for communicating with EU officials on progress of the government's work, especially with regard to new rules and regulations that would be enforced on coastal fishing in the country's 22 provinces.

Prawit said Article 44 of the interim charter might not be necessary in solving the IUU problems, which could be better handled by the issuing of an emergency decree.

Meanwhile, Surapong Kuang-jantuek, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission's subcommittee on migrant workers and related issues, said he would support the government's use of Article 44 of the interim charter to enforce rules and regulations of the new fisheries act.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Prayut-gets-Indonesian-backing-to-tackle-fishing-30258642.html


-- The Nation 2015-04-24

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

When I see all those dead Shovelnose Guitar sharks on the picture (a threatened shark specie) I really hope that EU will not be patient and give Thailand a second chance to keep on with it's vacuum cleaning of the ocean's marine life.

[Srikcir]

How Prayut tackles illegal fishing: form committees

How Indonesia tackles illegal fishing:

[fred Kubasa]

The blind leading the blind !

[NeilSA1]

Well done the PM for taking action, albeit it will not satisfy the anti brigade.

[ExPratt]

Indonesia and Thailand (The Dream Team)