“If we refer to the Djuanda Declaration in 1957 and Law 4/1960, Pulau Pasir has never been included in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia or on the map drawn after that,” said Amrih.
Amrih further said that the waters off Pulau Pasir is often entered by traditional fishermen from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) in their fishing trips. This prompted the Indonesian and Australian governments to agree on a memorandum of understanding regarding the rights of fishermen to fish in these waters decades ago.
“To accommodate the interests of the community, especially traditional fishermen in NTT, Indonesia and Australia signed an MoU agreement in 1974. This MoU was later ratified through agreements in 1981 and 1989, which is generally known as the MoU box,” said Amrih.
“This MoU regulates the rights of NTT traditional fishermen to exercise their fishing rights in Ashmore waters and other group of islands in the region that are the traditional fishing ground of NTT fisherfolks,” he concluded. (un)