AFP,
BEIJING: China said Thursday it was “astonished and strongly dissatisfied” after an Indonesian warship opened fire on a Chinese fishing boat, killing a crewman and wounding two others.
“We have made solemn representations to the Indonesian side, expecting it to inform us of the latest developments,” an official at the Chinese embassy in Jakarta Yu Hongyao told the China Daily.
Yu said the Chinese government was “astonished and strongly dissatisfied” with the actions of the Indonesian navy.
The incident took place Monday when the KRI Tanjung Dalpele came upon four boats believed to be illegally fishing in the Arafura Sea between Indonesia's Papua and Maluku provinces.
Three of the ships fled. The navy vessel hailed the fourth one, MV FuYuan 123, which was carrying the Chinese flag.
Captain Melis from the Indonesian Eastern Fleet Navy information office in Surabaya, East Java said standard procedures were followed.
He said after the boats ignored calls to halt, three shots were fired into the air, and then gun was fired at the side of the Chinese vessel which suddenly veered as if trying to collide with the warship.
The China Daily said 13 shots were fired.
The damaged ship and its remaining 13 crew members are in detention at a naval base in Merauke on the southeastern coast of easternmost Papua province.
“We're informed that the health of the detained crew members is OK, and we have asked the Indonesian side to treat them humanely,” Yu was quoted as saying.
The Indonesian navy has been seeking to crack down on illegal foreign fishermen.
