Does this video really show Indonesia destroying 31 Chinese vessels for illegal fishing? Fact Check
Claim : Video allegedly claims to show how Indonesia destroyed 31 Chinese vessels for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters.
Conclusion : The claim is totally false/ misrepresentation. The footage dates back to February 2016 where Indonesia sank 31 illegal fishing boats from countries like Vietnam and Malaysia among others. Many boats were also demolished in Pontianak, Bitung, Tahuna and Belawan islands with no Chinese boats involved. The move is part of the ongoing campaign against illegal fishing”.
Rating : Totally False — 
Several social media users have shared claims about Indonesia sinking 31 Chinese boats that were illegally fishing in Indonesian waters. On December 16, 2025, verified X user ‘NguyenThih36’ claimed that Indonesia had destroyed Chinese vessels caught illegally fishing in its waters, accompanied by a video showing boats exploding on the sea. The post warned that if “China dares to harass our people in our waters, it should be prepared for similar treatment.” View the post below –
#Indonesia destroyed Chinese vessels for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters.
Now, China must realize that “OUR actions will be the consequence of CHINA’s actions.” If China dares to harass our people in our waters, it should be prepared for similar treatment. pic.twitter.com/SieThyAqoS
— Nguyen Thi hong (@NguyenThih36) December 16, 2025
Other users have also shared similar claims which can be seen here and here
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and found that it is false. This footage dates back to February 2016 where Indonesia sank 31 illegal fishing boats including those from Vietnam and Malaysia among others. There were no Chinese boats involved and this claim is not supported by any credible reports.
Details:
We first conducted a web search with the phrase “Indonesia sinks 31 illegal Chinese fishing boats” to learn about the claim. However, we did not come across any report or credible evidence that confirms this. Searches for Indonesian actions against Chinese fishermen in December 2025 yielded no credible reports.
Next, we conducted a reverse image search from various keyframes of the video to trace it’s origin. The search took us to a Youtube video uploaded by AP Archive which is titled : Indonesia demolishes 31 illegal fishing boats. From the description we learnt that this video dates back to 22 Feb 2016. View a screenshot of this below –
(Video Courtesey:AP Archive)
Apart from this, we also came across videos from TRT World and Global News that shared the same video on 22nd February 2016.
In the video, the anchor can be seen saying that “Indonesian ministry of marine affairs has demolished 31 illegal fishing boats. The vessels originally from phillipines, Vietnam, malasia and Myanmar were blown up at five different locations across the country. The move is part of the ongong campaign against illegal fishing”.
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(Video courtesy: TRT World)
Coming to Indonesia attack on Chinese boats, Indonesia did attack a Chinese fishing boat as reported by BBC News on 20th June 2016 due to complications in disputed waters. Both sides defended their actions and the report notes that it “is unclear whether the fishermen are still being detained by Indonesian authorities.” However, this is a different scenario and does not include 31 Chinese boats as mentioned in the claim.
Thus, the claim is false.
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