It is totally not correct that the Indonesian government has prohibited its fishermen from commissioning the construction of fishing boats in Taiwan, announced MOFA. The ministry also said that the Indonesian government has given the assurance that as the two countries are World Trade Organization members, Indonesia would not take any discriminatory action against Taiwan that could breach the WTO’s most-favored trading partner principle.
A MOFA official said that preventing the fishing industry to use Taiwanese ships would amount to discriminatory behavior, under the terms of the WTO agreement. It is noted that under the WTO principle, each members should treat the others equally as “most-favored” trading partners.
Media reports that shipbuilders in southern Taiwan complained to opposition Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuan Bi-ling in January that Indonesia had ordered its fishermen to stop commissioning fishing trawlers from Taiwan. The shipbuilders said that the directive has resulted in losses of about NT$100 million a year.
On the contrary the Indonesian government said that to protect its fishery resources, improve management of fishing boats, and encourage foreign investment, it has suspended imports of old fishing boats, unless the import orders are placed by foreign companies or foreign-invested companies that have fish processing plants in Indonesia.
Suhartono, head of the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office in Taipei, has said that Taiwanese ships are popular among Indonesian fishing operators because of their competitive price and quality, and are incomparable with those built in other East Asian countries.
