US Coast Guard report criticises China for illegal fishing and aggressive tactics
- Thousands of vessels ‘coerce and intimidate legitimate fishers in support of the Chinese Communist Party’s long-term maritime strategic goals’, report says
- American admiral emphasises role the US can play in helping other countries monitor Chinese fishing vessels in their waters
The US Coast Guard had harsh words for China in a new report on illegal fishing, calling for like-minded nations to unite against predatory states at sea in a thinly veiled warning to Beijing.
“The People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia, estimated to include more than 3,000 vessels, actively carries out aggressive behavior on the high seas and in sovereign waters of other nations to coerce and intimidate legitimate fishers in support of the Chinese Communist Party’s long-term maritime strategic goals,” the report said.
Recently, the US Coast Guard has taken an increasingly assertive stance near China’s home turf, conducting its own exercises in the South China Sea and joining the US Navy in freedom of navigation operations across the Taiwan Strait.
Amid crumbling Washington-Beijing relations, the report signals the US Coast Guard’s resolve to increase operations against China’s sprawling distant water fishing fleet, which recent estimates place at around 17,000 vessels, with more than 12,000 of them operating in non-Chinese waters.