REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Naval aircraft Boeing 737 AI-7302 detected hundreds vessels conducting illegal fishing in Aru Sea on Monday. The aircraft was flown in a mission called Sayap Maleo 2014 which targeted illegal fishers in Merauke-Arafuru Sea.

Head of Information Department at Indonesian Navy, Hadi Tjahjanto, said that the Coordinating Minister of Maritime had suspected that the illegal vessels fished within the area. "The aircraft captured hundreds large vessels doing suspicious behavior. We reported our findings to the Coordinating Minister of Maritime," he said on Tuesday, December 9. 

Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu said that government was not agitated to face the large vessels. He believes that Indonesian Navy can sink such vessels. "We can sink them no matter how big it is," Ryacudu said.

He ensured that his ministry would beef up security of Indonesian maritime to prevent illegal fishing. "It is our task to guard the sea, especially in Eastern Indonesia in which its inhabitants depend on the sea for life," he said.

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