The Main Harbourmaster of Tanjung Priok Port has dispatched the KNP 356, 507 and 557 Patrol Boats to the location where the Lion Air JT 610 aircraft crashed.

"Once we received the information, we all took action, considering the environment on the sea is distinctly different compared to the land," said Head of Patrol Maintenance and Investigation of the Main Harbourmaster of Tanjung Priok Port Captain Dian Lesmana in a statement received in Bontang, Monday.

There are also two other patrol boats under the name KNP 488 that are being put on stand by, ready to be dispatched to the location.

The Ministry of Transportation`s Directorate General of Civil Aviation is currently coordinating with BASARNAS, Lion Air as the operator and Directorate General of Sea Transportation, as well as LPPNPI Public Corporation to conduct search and rescue activities on JT 610 aircraft.

A Lion Air plane with a flight number JT610 and 188 people on board, crashed in Tanjung Kerawang waters, West Java Province, after flying for 13 minutes from Jakarta toward Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Province, on Monday morning.

"It has been confirmed that the plane crashed in Tanjung Kerawang waters," Erzaldi Rosman Djohan, Bangka Belitung Governor, told the press in Jakarta, Monday.

The airplane departed from Jakarta at 06:20 a.m local time and was scheduled to arrive in Pangkalpinang at 07:05 a.m local time, according to the Depati Amir airport authority in Pangkalpinang.

Before it lost contact, the airplane had asked for a permission to return to Jakarta due to a problem.

The airplane carried 178 adult passengers, three infants, and five crew members and two pilots.

Governor Erzaldi had asked airport staff to collect data on the families of the victims, then two people from the family representatives will be departed for Jakarta.

"Two people from family representatives will be sent to Jakarta because the emergency post is at Soekarno Hatta Airport," he said.

The Indonesian authorities have set up an emergency command post at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, to deal with the accident. (ANTARA)

 A Lion Air passenger airplane with 188 people on board and flying from Jakarta to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung Province, lost contact on Monday.

The airplane flight JT 610 was departed from Jakarta at 06:20 a.m local time and was scheduled to arrive in Pangkalpinang at 07:05 a.m local time, according to the Depati Amir airport authority in Pangkalpinang.

However, the airplane lost contact at 06:33 a.m.

Head of the Pangkalpinang rescue team Danang Pandu confirmed the report when contacted by Antara.

"The location is already known," he said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Directorate General of Air Transportation of the Transportation Ministry Sindu Rahayu said in Jakarta, the aircraft with registration number PK-LOP was last detected by radar at a coordinate of 05 46.15 S - 107 07.16 E.

Before it lost contact, the airplane has asked to return to base.

The airplane carried 178 adult passengers, three infants, and seven crews including two pilots.

The ministry has worked on coordination with the National Search and Rescue Agency, Lion Air, the Directorate General of Sea Transportation to locate the ill-fated plane. (ANTARA)

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is keen to build international awareness on the quality of Indonesian fishery products to expand the export market later.

Ministry`s Director General of Strengthening Maritime and Fishery Product Competitiveness Rifky Efendi Hardijanto remarked in a written statement received here on Sunday that one of the efforts to realize this was to establish cooperation with the Ministry of Trade and Ministry of Foreign Affairs by holding the 2018 Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition - BSD City, Tangerang, Banten, on October 24-28, 2018.

"The target of transactions is not the main focus for us. Through this event, we build awareness of the quality of Indonesian fishery products among members of the international community," Hardijanto noted.

According to Hardijanto, the TEI is an international-standard Indonesian export product exhibition with a B-to-B focus, held annually by the Ministry of Trade, and this year, it involves the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"At this event, we provide products to be offered, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs brings buyers from abroad with the potential to build cooperation," he noted.

This year`s TEI exhibition is being held for the 33rd time and is coupled with Trade, Tourism, and Investment Forum activities, business matching, and foreign and domestic trade missions.

Hardijanto emphasized that the TEI exhibition was an arena for Indonesia to expand the fishery product and pearl market.

Hence, he stated that the exhibition was crucial to introduce national marine and fishery products to domestic and foreign investors.

According to Hardijanto, the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs continues to introduce national fishery products to both foreign and local investors. (ANTARA)

Vice President Jusuf Kalla officially opened the holding of the XI Indonesian Language Congress (KBI) held 28 to 31 October at the Vice Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Monday. The Vice President invited all people to be proud of using Indonesian.

"We are grateful that our great nation is only one official language, Indonesian," Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in a press release received by ANTARA in Jakarta on Monday.

The Vice President stated that the forerunner of Indonesian language was Riau Malay language, although the language was not the largest language of its users when Indonesian youth declared Indonesian as the language of unity at the Youth Congress on October 28, 1928.

"All that gives us a sense of pride and gratitude to the founding fathers of the nation who have proposed and approved the use of Riau Malay language which is used as the language of the country," said Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Indonesian is the third or fourth language that is the most widely used in the world.

"Being our strength, Indonesian uses Latin letters. In Asia, only Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and the Philippines use Latin letters, so that we can orient ourselves in other languages. That`s why we use more practical language," explained the Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla hopes Indonesian language can continue to be developed again by adhering to the times.

"Hopefully this Indonesian Language Congress can provide progress and enlightenment to the public about how to use standard Indonesian but still be modern and keep up with the times," said Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Minister of Education and Culture (Mendikbud), Muhadjir Effendy, in his report said the Indonesian Language Language XI Congress was held, besides talking about developing and fostering languages ??and literature in the country, also talking about the enforcement of linguistic regulations and protection of regional languages ??and literature that became the nation`s wealth the main identity of ethnic diversity that cannot be extinct.

"This congress was attended by 1,031 participants, including foreign participants who came from 12 friendly countries. The presence of foreign participants was also a representation of the ongoing internationalization of Indonesian language programs," explained the Minister of Education and Culture.

The theme raised in the implementation of the KBI, said the Minister of Education and Culture, describes the condition of language, specifically in the public sphere, which is increasingly fulfilled by the use of unfamiliar foreign languages. (ANTARA)