Lere Anan Timur, the Major General of Timor-Leste’s Defence Force (FFDTL), was responding to calls to better control the nation’s water against illegal fishing, saying FFDTL did not have suitable ships to monitor its rich marine waters.

Timur said two navy ships bought recently from China had made one journey to south Timor Sea before they broke down.

“These ship are not equipped for operation in the Timor Sea,” Lere said, adding the ships were currently unsuitable to use and sitting stationary.

The defence head said without resources to monitor Timor-Leste’s waters, illegal fishing would continue unchecked.

The comments came four days after the government confirmed 15 Chinese-owned fishing vessels operating in south Timor-Sea had been found with 43 tones of protected shark on board.

The fishing boats have been given 12-month licenses by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries valid until 15 November 2017.