China urges Indonesia to cooperate in fishery

China has called on Indonesia to cooperate in the fishery industry as Indonesia severed privileges given to China to fish in its waters.

According to the Jakarta Post, after confiscating around 10 Chinese-linked vessels for alleged poaching, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry of Indonesia said on Friday that the government had revoked a deal signed with China in 2013 that would give Chinese fishermen advantages over those of other countries in fishing in Indonesia.

"China is willing to work with Indonesia to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral fishery cooperation," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a daily press briefing on Tuesday.

"At present, the ministries in charge of maritime affairs and fisheries from both countries are communicating details of bilateral cooperation in fishery," she said.

Indonesia recently issued a ban on large fishing operations by foreign vessels in its waters, which affected previous partnerships with countries including China.

Hua called on the Indonesian government to "earnestly protect" Chinese enterprises' investment interests and Chinese crew members' legal rights.