Jakarta, Shawwal 27, 1437, August 01, 2016, SPA -- Indonesia will mark its independence day this month by sinking 71 foreign boats that were seized for fishing illegally in the country's waters, the fisheries minister said Monday, according to dpa. Officials will sink the boats in eight locations on August 17, the country's national day, by opening valves to the sea to allow water to flow into the hulls, Susi Pujiastuti said. In the past officials used explosives to destroy and sink foreign vessels caught for illegal fishing. "We don't want to act excessively," she said on abandoning the use of explosives. "I think [fish poachers] have now learned their lessons." She did not say if seized Chinese fishing vessels were among those to be scuttled. --SPA 15:28 LOCAL TIME 12:28 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w