Indonesia, Thailand, agree to work together on illegal fishing
Indonesia and Thailand agreed Thursday to set up a joint taskforce on illegal fishing, a lucrative cross-border trade that labour groups claim is responsible for enslaving thousands of workers from across Southeast Asia.
Thai companies have been linked to shadowy fishing operations in Indonesia, a bountiful hunting ground for a blackmarket industry that costs Jakarta an estimated $20 billion in losses every year.
The administration of Indonesian President Joko Widodo has embarked on a hardline campaign against illegal fishing since taking office in October, seizing and scuttling unlicensed vessels.
Some of these vessels have also been suspected of enslaving foreign fishermen, hundreds of whom were returned home earlier this month after being discovered by Indonesian authorities dumped on islands in the country's remote east.
Widodo and Thai army chief General Prayut Chan-o-cha -- who took power in a military coup last year -- agreed Thursday to cooperate more closely during a meeting on the sidelines of a conference in Jakarta.
Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said the meeting was "friendly" and both leaders acknowledged more needed to be done.
