Foreign Minister David Lin says Taiwan hopes to work with Indonesia on enforcing fishery laws.
Lin was speaking at the legislature on Thursday, ten days after Indonesian patrol vessels opened fire on two Taiwanese fishing boats in the Strait of Malacca. Nobody was injured, but the incident has become a thorny issue in relations between the two countries.
Lin said that Indonesian authorities have provided written statements on the incident. But he said that the reports from Indonesia do not match with Taiwanese records. Lin said Taiwan is asking Indonesia for more evidence.
Lin said he hopes that the two countries will now negotiate holding talks on a fishery law enforcement agreement similar to an agreement Taiwan concluded with the Philippines last year.
"We hope that the Fisheries Agency and the Coast Guard Administration will form a delegation to go to Indonesia and talk with the Indonesian Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries about further comparing evidence on the shooting incident from both sides. We hope that we can clear up some issues," Lin said. "Most importantly, we hope that in the future we can set up a law enforcement cooperation agreement, especially a notification mechanism, so that we can avoid similar incidents from happening again."
Several lawmakers brought up the question of whether Taiwan and Indonesia will sign a fisheries agreement. Lin said Taiwan will discuss the matter with Indonesia, but said that the country is reluctant to share its fishing resources.