REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LONDON -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has reiterated Indonesia's firm stance against illegal fishing as it violated the country's sovereignty and harmed the marine environment of the Indonesian waters.

"Especially with regard to maritime resources, we will continue to uphold a firm stance to not tolerate any illegal fishing activities in our waters," Jokowi stated here, Tuesday, before delegates from 107 member states and 53 non-governmental organizations in his address to the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee.

Sustainable management of the world's oceans will be crucial to global development, the president affirmed.

"Indonesia believes the future of global prosperity depends on how we manage the sea. That future can be secured by taking care of the sea as our common heritage. We can do this through international cooperation, including at the IMO," he noted.

Indonesia will continue to play an active role in the IMO, President Jokowi emphasized, pointed to the country's ratification of the Ballast Water Management Convention last year.

"We realize that the sustainable utilization of maritime resources must be carried out for the benefit of our people. We are aware of our responsibility, as a member of the international society, to ensure maritime sustainability. We also realize that, as a power between two oceans, we must take part in ensuring the safety of international navigation. In this context, Indonesia views the IMO and our membership in it as important," he affirmed.

The president also outlined Indonesia's national strategy for maritime development and confirmed his support for the IMO.

Comprising over 17 thousand islands, Indonesia is striving to unite the nation by building inter-island connectivity.

As part of the sea toll development program, the country has been constructing new seaports, upgrading the existing harbors, adding more cargo and passenger ships, and modernizing its seaport management, he remarked.

"All these steps are aimed at accelerating and evenly distributing Indonesia's economic growth and at making them more efficient and competitive," he stated.

Since last year, the government has constructed 27 new seaports, and 68 more are still under construction in North Maluku, Papua, East Nusa Tenggara, and Sulawesi, among others.

"Right now, we are adding 200 patrol, cargo, passenger, and navigation boats," he remarked.

Maritime infrastructure development is a crucial part of the nation's efforts to restore its identity as a maritime nation, he stated.

Strategically located between the Indian and Pacific oceans, Indonesia is a hub of international shipping, with more than 60 thousand ships passing the country's waters every year.

He said the government had planned to create more qualified sailors, despite the country currently having the world's second-largest number of ship crew members, reaching 575 thousand.

Indonesia had last year ratified the Ballast Water Management Convention and will continue to play an active role in the organization, he noted.

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