Thai companies have been linked to shadowy fishing operations in Indonesia, a bountiful hunting ground for a blackmarket industry that costs Jakarta an estimated $20 billion in losses every year.
The administration of Indonesian President Joko Widodo has embarked on a hardline campaign against illegal fishing since taking office in October, seizing and scuttling unlicensed vessels.
Some of these vessels have also been suspected of enslaving foreign fishermen, hundreds of whom were returned home earlier this month after being discovered by Indonesian authorities dumped on islands in the country's remote east.
Widodo and Thai army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha – who took power in a military coup last year – agreed today to cooperate more closely during a meeting on the sidelines of a conference in Jakarta.
Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said the meeting was "friendly" and both leaders acknowledged more needed to be done.
"Both leaders are going to set up a taskforce to address this issue," he said.
Chan-ocha acknowledged Thailand had its own problems with illegal fishing and was cracking down on the trade within its borders, Nasir added.