REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian government on Wednesday deported 239 Vietnamese fishermen who were arrested in a series of operations aimed at combating illegal fishing in the Indonesian waters.

"We have agreed to deport Vietnamese fishermen who are not named suspects to their country soon, through intensive coordination between the Indonesian Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the Vietnamese Embassy in Jakarta," acting Director General of Maritime and Fishery Resources Supervision Nilanto Perbowo stated on Wednesday.

The Vietnamese fishermen were deported to their country via the maritime and fishery resource supervision (PSDKP) base in Batam, Riau Islands province, on Wednesday (Oct 4), he noted.

He remarked that the Vietnamese fishermen were arrested in a series of operations involving personnel from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, the Indonesian Navy, and the National Police.

They were not suspects but were witnesses in illegal fishing cases, he added.

They had been accommodated in several temporary shelters ahead of deportation, including at the maritime and fishery resource supervision (PSDKP) base in Batam, the Indonesian naval base in Ranai and Terempa, the water police station in West Kalimantan, and immigration office in Natuna/Ranai.

The Vietnamese fishermen were deported to their country aboard Vietnam Coast Guard 8001 vessel.

Early, on June 9, the Indonesian government also deported 695 fishermen via the PSDKP base in Batam.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) once stated that all parties must have the guts to fight against illegal fishing in the Indonesian waters as part of the efforts to maintain the country's marine resources. 

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