By Prashanth Parameswaran

May 22, 2015

"As I reported previously, on Wednesday Indonesia sank a Chinese vessel caught fishing illegally in Indonesian waters near the South China Sea, the first such instance since President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo declared war on illegal fishing (See: 'Indonesia Sinks First Vessel From China Under Jokowi'). The boat was among 41 vessels simultaneously destroyed to commemorate National Awakening Day, with the others being from neighboring states including the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

But why did the Jokowi government choose to sink its first Chinese vessel now?

A standard reply from government officials would be that the sinking of the Chinese vessel, just like the sinking of any other vessel, was scheduled in line with legal proceedings. That is, the timing of the sinking of the empty Chinese vessel was dependent on when other legal issues were resolved via court proceedings and when the proper authorization was obtained."

Read more:
http://thediplomat.com/2015/05/why-did-indonesia-just-sink-a-vessel-from-china/

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