Vietnam quiet over destroyed boats

KOROR – Palau’s President said he hopes Vietnam gets the message that his country will not tolerate more illegal activity by Vietnamese fishing crews in its waters.

Tommy Remengesau has defended his country’s policy of burning foreign vessels caught illegally fishing in its waters.

In the last month Palau has burned a cluster of Vietnamese fishing boats, detained the ships’ captains and deported crew members.

These vessels join 15 other Vietnamese-flagged boats caught by Palau since 2014.

Remengesau said Palau was hoping Vietnam’s government would come to the table for discussion on this.

“Unfortunately, we have not had any positive response from the government of Vietnam through the embassy in the Philippines.

“Even the request for translations matters that hopefully the embassy provide to their people, they have not been responsive to that. So we’ve had to seek our own interpreters from outside the country.”

Indonesia has also recently re-activated its policy of burning foreign vessels caught illegally fishing in its waters, with Vietnamese vessels featuring frequently.