Sarawak Gov’t has plan to ‘deal’ with Chinese Navy

The state government has plans to erect more artificial shoals along the state’s coastlines to help overcome the Chinese Navy occupying Luconia Shoals in Sarawak waters.

MIRI: About 1,000 fishermen from Miri, Kuala Baram, Kuala Sibuti, Kuala Niah and Kuala Suai have agreed with the Sarawak Government that the best way to deal with the Chinese Navy chasing them away from Luconia Shoals was to erect more artificial shoals along the state’s coastlines.

Councilor Jamali Basri, the chairman of the Miri Fishermen’s Association, who disclosed this, added the Sarawak Government plan was the only way to deal with the Chinese Navy occupying Luconia Shoals and the Chinese boats being allowed to fish in the seas there. “Foreign fishermen have also encroached into other Sarawak waters as well despite enforcement efforts by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).”

Artificial reefs along the coastline, he added, would ensure a constant supply of marine resources.

Jamal however has caveats viz. that the Sarawak Government reduce the number of fishing licences given to foreign boats and only allow Class A licence holders comprising traditional and outboard fishermen to fish in the artificial reef areas. “We hope that the state government would not continue to renew the licences held by foreign fishing vessels.”

“They are contributing to the depletion of our marine resources.”

Local fishermen have reportedly not been able to fish in the seas in the Luconia Shoals area off northern Sarawak since May because they are still being chased away from there and threatened by the Chinese Navy.

Luconia Shoals, locally known as Gugusan Beting Patinggi Ali, is a cluster of shoals and reef complexes, 65 nautical miles north-west of the oil-rich Miri town, in the South China Sea.

“The area clearly is in Malaysian waters and our fishermen should be able to fish there,” said Jamali. “However, our fishermen are being chased away from Gugusan Beting Patinggi Ali and even threatened by the Chinese Navy.”

Jamali said the Chinese Navy has in fact been present in the Gugusan since 2013. “Only fishing boats from China are allowed to enter the area and fish.”

It has been learnt that the Foreign Ministry has been lodging weekly protests with Beijing over the presence of the Chinese Navy in Luconia. China, which is 4,000 km away, claims that Luconia, which is just outside the Spratly Islands, belongs to it.

The Malaysian Navy, reportedly, can communicate with the Chinese Navy on Channel 16 but the latter doesn’t respond.