A U.S. intelligence agency has recommended in a document obtained by Axios that the U.S. should consider leading a multilateral coalition with South American nations to back down against China’s illegal and trade practices.
Why it’s important: China’s illegal fishing industry is the largest in the world. Beijing has made fishing in distant waters a geopolitical priority, as it sees Chinese private fishing fleets as a way to extend state power far beyond its shores.
- A senior US administration official confirmed to Axios that several government agencies “are looking at this in light of the president’s priorities,” which include “deepening cooperation with allies and partners in the challenges we face for to our economy and national security. ” ”
What is happening: Huge fleets of hundreds of Chinese boats have had boats fishing illegally in the territorial waters of South American countries, even in the Galapagos Islands.
- The activity has depleted stocks and altered food chains, in a practice called illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing (IUU).
- South American nations say these fleets are a challenge to their economic and environmental security, but their navies often lack the resources to monitor and patrol their own waters.
- Last year, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru declared that they would join forces to defend their territorial waters from incursions by Chinese ships.
Details: “South American countries would probably like a coalition effort to increase trade pressure on China and the application of fisheries standards,” Intelligence and Analysis Bureau officials wrote in a document from the 5th of February titled sensitive but unclassified.
- “Unilateral pressure from the United States is likely to cause China to impose similar sanctions, as Beijing did by enacting a new law to counter U.S. restrictions on technology companies,” office officials said. , an intelligence agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
- Several offices and agencies are working together on this effort, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Office of Naval Intelligence, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the State Department, according to the document and government sources.
The document is valued with “high confidence” that Chinese fishing in South American waters would also “cause continued economic damage to U.S. national fisheries as a result of anti-competitive tactics.”
- He assessed with “average confidence” that China is likely to “continue exploitative fishing practices in South American waters despite recent actions by governments and an intergovernmental organization to limit such activities.”
- He also assessed with “average confidence” that South American countries would host a coalition to increase the application of fishing standards.
What they say: “There is a lack of understanding of this problem, which is a global problem, that fisheries are quite stressed,” senior management told Axios.
- The Trump administration “began working on the issue against the IUU globally on the role of China, as they have emerged as the top author in this,” the official said, adding that the administration of Biden continues to see this as a priority.
Background: Former Chinese President Hu Jintao called for China to become a major maritime power, and in 2013, China’s State Council elevated the fishing industry to the level of a strategic industry.
- The Chinese government provides subsidies to the fishing industry, which allows vessels to cover the fuel costs of sailing to distant coasts, including those close to West Africa and South America.
- “Chinese leaders see distant water fleets as a way to project a worldwide presence, so that when it comes time to establish regulatory frameworks, they have a strong opinion on how those frameworks are established,” he said. dir Tabitha Mallory, CEO of the consulting firm China Ocean Institute and an affiliate professor at the University of Washington.
- The goal is to be “present in all the world’s oceans so that they can direct the results of international agreements covering maritime resources,” Mallory said, “including not just fishing, but seabed mining, the Arctic.” and other key issues and regions.
The US government has paid more attention in China’s increasingly global deep-sea fishing fleets in recent years.
- The Maritime Safety and Fisheries Enforcement Act (SAFE), passed in December 2019, established a “government-wide approach” to combating IUU fishing.
- In May 2020, President Trump issued an executive order to combat illegal deep-sea fishing and help promote U.S. competitiveness in the industry.
- In September 2020, the State Department added fish caught by China’s fishing fleets to the list of goods produced by forced labor, a potential concern that is also raised in the DHS document.
The summary: “Other countries must also take these issues into account,” Mallory said, “everything the United States does alone will be seen by the Chinese simply as part of the backdrop to increased energy competition.”