By NNN-ANTARA
Jakarta : Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla hopes no trade war will break out between Indonesia and China following Jakarta`s decision to ban Chinese candy imports and Beijing`s policy of not permitting fish from Indonesia to enter China.
“We protect our domestic consumers and China does likewise, but these measures should not lead to a trade war between the two countries,” Kalla said at his residence on Jalan Diponegoro here on Monday.
The Chinese measure was an act of retaliation to a decision made by Indonesia`s National Drugs and Food Control Agency (BPOM) to ban confectionery from China after laboratory tests had indicated they contained formaldehyde. BPOM`s ruling was recently followed by Beijing`s decision to ban Indonesian fish imports on the ground the fishes held dangerous quantities of mercury.
The vice president said every country had the right to protect its domestic consumers and therefore BPOM had to make such a decision.
Asked what the “controversy” between Indonesia and China would be like in the future, Kalla said it would depend on the laboratory test results in each country.
Kalla said the problem should be solved by appointing a third, neutral party to test the Chinese products in Indonesia and the Indonesian products in China.
Meanwhile, Indonesia has filed an official letter to China seeking clarification of Beijing’s abrupt decision to ban all Indonesian seafood imports, a government official said Monday.
“We have sent the letter to the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing today (Monday) to be submitted to the Chinese government. We are seeking a clarification from the Chinese government over its decision, which we find very strange,” said Saut Hutagalung, spokesman for the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Ministry.
The Jakarta government said China’s decision to ban seafood imports from Indonesia came without any prior notification.
“It’s a surprise decision. Therefore, we ask China to specify their reason for banning our products,” Hutagalung told Deutsche Presse-Agentur DPA.
Last week China banned all imports of aquatic food products from Indonesia after checks turned up toxins, dangerous chemicals and disease causing pathogens.
The ban did not cite any specific seafood products but the Chinese administration said Indonesian products had been found tainted with mercury and cadmium, metals that can accumulate in water and soil as a result of burning garbage, mining and other industrial processes.
China’s food safety regulator said that all shipments received as of last Friday would be checked carefully and those found safe allowed into the Chinese market. Shipments received after Friday would be returned or destroyed.
Some Indonesian officials claim the move was an apparent reaction to an Indonesian ban on some tainted Chinese products. They demanded that China to come up with evidence, such as showing laboratory test results to support the total ban.