Australia and Indonesia have agreed to enhance cooperation in combating illegal fishing, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said here Saturday.

Downer told a press conference here that he had breakfast with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, during which they discussed the issue of illegal fishing.

The ministers are in this Malaysian capital to make preparations for the first East Asia Summit scheduled here next week, which will gather leaders from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and those from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Downer said Australia will fund 300,000 Australian dollars (225, 000 US dollars) to work with Indonesian authorities on an education campaign to raise awareness in Indonesia of the consequence of fishing illegally in Australian waters, and the two governments will also conduct a joint study on illegal fishing in Southeast Asia, including the demand for shark fin.

He said they also agreed to upgrade cooperation in surveillance and information sharing. A joint fisheries surveillance forum is being established to explore ways of monitoring illegal fishing and to build surveillance capacity.

"We also agreed to put in place a system of communication by which Indonesian authorities will be notified of the apprehension of Indonesian vessels by Australian authorities," he said.

Illegal fishing in Australia's northern waters has increased dramatically in the past five years, according to the foreign minister.

"More than 240 foreign vessels -- most of them Indonesian -- have been apprehended this year for fishing illegally," he said, adding many of these vessels are commercial operators using modern and well-equipped vessels, often with satellite positioning systems, radar and ice-pack holds.

Source: Xinhua