China in focus as US teases plans to battle illegal fishing in the Pacific

US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell told a forum that illegal fishing was ‘one of the biggest challenges’ facing the Pacific region

Illegal fishing has outpaced piracy as the top global maritime security threat according to the US coastguard, which has called on China to control its vessels

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Chinese fishing boats are seen leaving a port in southeast Fujian province in August 2020. Photo: Xinhua

Reutersin Washington

Published: 4:02pm, 10 May 2022

The United States has plans to better battle illegal fishing in the Pacific, US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said, as part of increased US engagement with the region to counter China’s growing influence.

Several countries in the Indo-Pacific region chafe at China’s vast fishing fleet, saying its vessels often violate their exclusive economic zones and cause environmental damage and economic losses.

“One of the biggest challenges in the Pacific is in fact illegal fishing,” Campbell told a forum at Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies on Monday, when asked about growing cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands, a long-time traditional partner of the US.

US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell pictured at an event in Beijing in 2019. Photo: Reuters

“We believe that in the next couple of weeks we are going to, through various institutions, announce a major set of capabilities designed to improve maritime-domain awareness,” Campbell said, calling it vital to address the problem.

Campbell spoke ahead of President Joe Biden’s planned May 20-24 visit to South Korea and Japan that will include a meeting in Tokyo of the Quad group of countries – Australia, India, Japan and the US – which have increased cooperation in the face of China’s growing assertiveness.

China says it is a responsible fishing country that has been cooperating internationally to clamp down on illegal fishing, and that it fishes in relevant exclusive economic zones according to bilateral agreements.