KUALA LUMPUR: Some 265 Vietnamese fishing boats encroached into Malaysian waters between 2020 and last year, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) also arrested 2,683 crew members of those vessels for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (pic).
From January to April this year, 35 vessels were detained and 307 crewmen arrested, he added.
“Vietnam has constantly raised this issue during meetings with the Malaysian leadership, including at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) conference last year.
“Then Vietnam president Vo Van Thuong officially informed the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) of their willingness to cooperate with Malaysia on increasing their maritime enforcement,” he said in a parliamentary written reply dated Tuesday (July 16).
Mohamad said Malaysia will also cooperate with Vietnam through existing platforms to help its fellow Asean member take proactive measures to improve maritime management and resolve the issue of encroachment and illegal fishing.
Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (PN-Dungun) had asked about joint efforts with Vietnam to improve that country’s governance and enforcement concerning its fishing vessels.
