Indonesia has even taken down a ship from China, despite the Asian powerhouse’s aggressive backing of its own distant-water fleet with force and political pressure. And “if there is an illegal fishing boat from America, we will also sink it,” Pudjiastuti said in the Wall Street Journal (paywall).

Happy National Awakening Day!
Happy National Awakening Day!
Image: Reuters/Fiqman Sunandar/Antara Foto

When president Joko Widodo came to power in 2014, he ordered the sinking of illegal foreign fishing boats as what he called “shock therapy,” the idea being that ships from no country would feel immune from Indonesia’s crackdown. He noted at the time (paywall) that of the approximately 5,400 fishing vessels operating in the nation’s waters on any given day, 90% of them were illegal; meanwhile, Indonesia loses billions of dollars every year to illegal fishing.

Two more down.
Two more down.
Image: Reuters/Antara Foto/Izaac Mulyawan

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