Hanoi (VNA)🧸 – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has said that the country will launch a broader crackdown on the illegal exploitation of natural resources after a survey found that palm plantations on 3.7 million ha were operating in violation of the law.

In his first state of the nation speech, delivered as the country celebrates 80 years of independence, Prabowo said that a total of 5 million hectares of palm plantations have been under scrutiny for operating in protected forest areas, not reporting their actual size, or not responding to summons from auditors. He said that Indonesian government had already seized 3.1 million ha of illegal palm plantations. His government is also planning a crackdown on mining after the authorities had received reports more than 1,000 illegal operations throughout the mineral-rich archipelago, he said. However, he did not specify what type of mines or the commodities they were extracting. Eddy Martono, head of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), questioned the source of Prabowo’s figures, warning that they could damage Indonesia’s international image by suggesting the country’s palm oil industry is driving deforestation. Indonesia is currently the world's largest producer and exporter of palm oil, the world's largest nickel producer and among the leading exporters of thermal coal, tin and copper./.