China Coast Guard rams fishing boat detained by Indonesia

A Chinese Coast Guard vessel rammed a Chinese fishing boat that had been stopped for fishing illegally in Indonesian waters, prying it free but leaving the boat’s crew in the hands of Indonesian authorities, The New York Times reported. “To prevent anything else occurring, the Indonesian authorities let go of the Chinese boat and then left toward Natuna, still with eight fishermen and the captain on board,” said Arrmanatha Nasir, a spokesman for Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry. The incident may mark a tipping point in how Indonesia deals with an increasingly aggressive China, as previously it had tended to downplay such incidents.