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Indonesia handed over 39 fishermen to Vietnam on Wednesday at Soekarno Hatta International Airport, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
Most of the fishermen, who come from Vietnam's southern coastal provinces, had been detained for 3-4 months for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters.
“I’m very happy I've been released," fisherman Le Van Tung said. "I promise I’ll never trespass on Indonesian waters again."
The Indonesian government also released 228 illegal Vietnamese fishermen in September to reduce the pressure on overloaded detention centers.
Indonesian forces have seized 98 boats and approximately 1,110 fishermen from Vietnam this year, and 320 remain in custody on Indonesian islands.
Tran Minh Cu from the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia said that the agency had visited the fishermen and asked them to observe legal regulations to avoid unwanted incidents.
In late October, an Indonesian naval vessel chased and fired on two Vietnamese fishing boats, injuring three of 13 the fishermen on board, one of whom died from his wounds.Vietnam has protested the deadly shooting.
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> Vietnam protests deadly shooting of fisherman by Indonesian navy
