The US should consider leading a multilateral coalition with South American countries to curb China’s illegal fishing and trade practices, a US intelligence agency has recommended in a document obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: Illegal fishing in China is the largest in the world. Beijing has made distant-water fishing a geo-political priority by viewing private Chinese fishing fleets as a way to extend state power far beyond its shores.
- A senior US government official confirmed to Axios that several agencies within the government are “looking at this in the light of the president’s priorities,” including “deepening cooperation with allies and partners on the challenges we face for our economy. and national security. ”
What is going on: Huge fleets of hundreds of Chinese ships have allowed boats to fish illegally in the territorial waters of South American countries, including off the Galapagos Islands.
- The activity has depleted resources and disrupted food chains, in a practice referred to as illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing (IUU).
- South American countries say these fleets pose a challenge to their economic and environmental security, but their navies often lack the resources to effectively monitor and patrol their own waters.
- Last year, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru declared they would join forces to protect their territorial waters from attacks from Chinese ships.
Details: “South American countries would likely welcome a coalition effort to increase trade pressure on China and increase enforcement of fisheries standards,” Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis officials wrote in a Feb. 5 document labeled sensitive but unclassified.
- “Unilateral pressure from the United States would likely cause China to impose similar sanctions, just as Beijing did by enacting a new law to counter US restrictions on technology companies,” said the people at the office, an intelligence agency within the United States. Department of Homeland Security.
- According to the document and government sources, several offices and agencies are collaborating on this effort, including the United States Coast Guard, the Office of Naval Intelligence, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the State Department.
The document rated with “high confidence” that Chinese fisheries in South American waters would also cause “sustained economic damage to US domestic fisheries as a result of anti-competitive tactics”.
- It found with “moderate confidence” that China is likely to “continue exploitative fishing practices in South American waters despite recent measures by governments and an intergovernmental organization to restrict these activities.”
- It also ruled with “moderate confidence” that South American countries would welcome a coalition to strengthen enforcement of fishing standards.
What they say: “There is a lack of understanding of this problem, that it is a global problem, that the fisheries are quite stressed,” the senior administration official told Axios.
- The Trump administration “began some work on the counter-IUU issue worldwide regarding China’s role as they have emerged as the main culprit in this area,” said the official, adding that the government -Biden continues to consider this a priority.
Background: Former Chinese President Hu Jintao called for China to become a major maritime power, and in 2013 the China State Council raised the fishing industry to the level of a strategic industry.
- The Chinese government provides subsidies to the fishing industry, allowing boats to cover the fuel costs of sailing to distant coasts, including near West Africa and South America.
- “China’s leaders see distant water fleets as a way to project presence around the world so that when the time comes to set up regulatory frameworks, they will have a big say in how those frameworks are set up,” said Tabitha Mallory, CEO . of the China Ocean Institute consultancy and associate professor at the University of Washington.
- The goal is to be “around the world so they can steer the results of international agreements pertaining to maritime resources,” said Mallory, “including not only fisheries, but also mining on the seafloor, the Arctic.” and other important issues and regions.
The US government has paid more attention to China’s increasingly global deep-sea fishing fleets in recent years.
- The Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement (SAFE) Act, passed in December 2019, introduced a “whole government approach” to combat IUU fishing.
- In May 2020, President Trump issued an executive order to combat illegal deep-sea fishing and help promote US competitiveness in the industry.
- In September 2020, the State Department added fish caught by China’s far-flung fishing fleets to the list of goods produced through forced labor – a potential issue also raised in the DHS document.
It comes down to: “Other countries should also consider these issues,” said Mallory. “Anything the US does alone will be seen by the Chinese as part of the backdrop of increasing power competition.”