Bakamla-MKN Malaysia Discusses Implementation Of Fisherman Handling Agreement

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Bakamla and the Malaysian State Safety Council (MKN) discussed the progress of the implementation of the agreement to deal with fishermen who strayed in the waters of the two countries as stated in the MoU Common Guidlines Concerning Treatment of Fishermen by Maritime Law Enforcement Agencies.

Deputy for Legal Information and Cooperation, Laksda Bakamla I Putu Arya Angga S, said that the meeting which was held nine years after the signing of the Common Guidlines MoU was important, in line with the latest developments in the field.

"We really appreciate the willingness of the Malaysian government, in this case MKN Malaysia as the 'focal point' for the implementation of the MoU Common Guidelines, to hold this seventh 'review meeting' virtually," said Admiral I Putu Arya Angga, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, December 1.

In the discussion which was also led by the Director of Maritime Security and Sovereignty Division, National Security Council, Prime Minister's Department of Malaysia Roselin bin Rajab as the Malaysian delegation, several important things were discussed, including coordination and communication between law enforcement agencies of the two countries.

The delegations of the two countries highlighted the importance of communication between Indonesian and Malaysian law enforcement agencies before taking action against fishing vessels.

The virtual discussion also discussed the importance of identifying the coordinates of the fishing vessels of the two countries in terms of law enforcement, especially the location of the vessel being detected and the location of the vessel being stopped.

Meanwhile in his introduction, Admiral I Putu Arya Angga stated that from the sixth review meeting in Pulau Pinang Malaysia, in November 2019 there were still obstacles and challenges in the implementation of the MoU Common Guidelines and Common Best Practice as agreed in the fourth review meeting.

Obstacles and challenges, especially in the overall best implementation, which still requires socialization to fishermen and marine users as well as law enforcers of the two countries.

He invited the meeting participants to exchange ideas and discuss finding good solutions and solutions in the implementation of the MoU Common Guidlines, so that the benefits would be felt by both countries.

"Let us be committed to supporting the implementation of the 'common best practices' that we have agreed on together. We believe that with our mutual agreement on the 'common best practices', the implementation of the MoU common guidelines will be even better in the future, especially in the context of protect the welfare of small or traditional fishermen and protect the marine environment in unresolved maritime boundary areas," he said.