Indon navy sinks 4 RP fishing boats

As an Indonesian warship reportedly sank four Philippine fishing boats caught poaching off Sulawesi, three senators demanded yesterday that 38 Chinese fishermen accused of poaching off Palawan be immediately charged in court.

An Agence France Presse dispatch from Jakarta said an Indonesian warship sunk four Philippine fishing boats which tried to flee after poaching in Indonesian waters.

The report said no one among the 49 Filipino fishermen aboard was hurt.

The KRI Untung Surapati opened fire on the fishing boats on Monday off Sulawasi island, newspapers and the state Antara news agency reported.

A navy spokesman said the Filipino crewmen are now detained at a naval base in Bitung, Manado in North Sulawesi.

"We fired warning shots three times but they continued speeding at more than 20 knots so we shot them in their bows to save the crew," the spokesman said.

The Indonesian navy was clamping down on illegal fishing, with 12 foreign boats sunk or seized in the past week, he added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will ask for a copy of the Indonesian navy’s rules of engagement to determine if the warship was right in firing at the fishing boats.

In Manila, three senators were angered by the Chinese embassy’s alleged action of pressuring the government to free 38 detained Chinese fishermen accused of poaching off Palawan.

The embassy was said to have insisted that the fishermen be released as a "diplomatic gesture" in time for the celebration of Chinese New Year on Saturday.

Senators Francis Pangilinan, Noli de Castro and Manuel Villar have asked Malacañang and the DFA to reject the overtures from the Chinese embassy.

Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, said the Department of Justice must charge in court the Chinese fishermen, who were caught illegally fishing off Tubbataha Reef in Palawan last year.

He said he has asked Senate President Franklin Drilon to speed up the passage of a Senate resolution urging the justice department to reject an appeal of the Chinese fishermen to reconsider their case.

"Let the chips fall where they may," he said. "The Chinese government must realize that our laws and principles are not bargaining chips to achieve diplomacy."

De Castro said the Chinese fishermen should pay the fine required by law before any discussion for their release could be considered.

In February last year, some 122 Chinese fishermen who were arrested for poaching were released without being charged in court, he added.

Villar, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, said releasing the Chinese fishermen would embolden "others" to poach in Philippine waters and violate the country’s maritime laws.

"We will be the laughingstock of criminals and felons if we let them get away unpunished," he said. "The foreign poachers must not be given preferential treatment."

Villar said the Chinese fishermen should be "treated like ordinary people" who are facing charges of violating the Fisheries Code.

"We must teach the poachers a lesson," he said. "Otherwise, they will come back and poach again. The problem will only worsen."

The Chinese fishermen were charged before the Palawan Regional Trial Court with poaching and illegal fishing using noxious substances in violation of the Fisheries Code.

Seized from them were 1.8 tons of live fish, implements for blast fishing and poisoning, like empty bottles of sodium cyanide solution and powder, homemade dynamite and black pellets suspected to be components of explosives.

It is estimated that the government loses almost P50 billion a year because of poaching and illegal fishing by foreigners in Philippine waters. — AFP, Sammy Santos, Aurea Calica