US joins fellow Quad members in programme to curb illegal fishing

TOKYO • The United States is joining Japan, India and Australia in a new programme aimed at curbing illegal fishing, as concern grows over the practice by Chinese vessels.

The five-year initiative announced yesterday aims to promote better tracking of "dark" shipping and fishing - in which vessels turn off transponders - in the Indo-Pacific region.

It will "offer a near-real-time, integrated and cost-effective maritime domain awareness picture", according to a joint statement.

The announcement coincided with a meeting in Tokyo of the leaders of the four-nation security grouping known as the Quad, on the final day of US President Joe Biden's first trip to Asia since he took office.

Concerns have risen that Beijing is negotiating new security deals with Pacific nations following its agreement with the Solomon Islands last month.

"This initiative will transform the ability of partners in the Pacific islands, South-east Asia and the Indian Ocean region to fully monitor the waters on their shores and, in turn, to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific," the statement said.

In addition to curbing illegal fishing, the initiative will help safeguard territorial sovereignty and aid in sea rescue missions, said a senior Biden administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity before the formal announcement.

Rampant illegal fishing has become a growing concern over the years as Chinese fleets are increasingly found in waters claimed by far-flung nations, while contributing to overfishing and pollution.

The Quad programme, using radio-frequency and other technologies, will amass unclassified data that can be shared with "a wide range of partners who wish to benefit", according to the statement.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said yesterday at a regular media briefing in Beijing that his nation "always actively fulfils its international obligations", adding that "relevant countries should not be biased and level groundless accusations".

Mr Biden has sought to use his Asia trip to boost regional ties as a means to counter China's clout, including with a new economic framework that a dozen Indo-Pacific countries publicly signed up to on Monday.

Yesterday, the Quad leaders said that they oppose all attempts to "change the status quo by force, particularly in the Indo-Pacific".

The statement comes amid international pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine and growing concern about whether Beijing could try to forcibly seize self-ruled Taiwan.

"As Russia's invasion of Ukraine is shaking the fundamental principles of the international order... (we) confirmed that unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force will never be tolerated anywhere, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region," said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

In their joint statement, the leaders made specific reference to "the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation activities" - all activities that China is accused of carrying out regionally. But they avoided explicit condemnation of either China or Russia.

They also announced a plan to spend at least US$50 billion (S$68.7 billion) on infrastructure projects and investment in the region over the next five years.

The moves come amid worries over recent Chinese efforts to build ties with Pacific nations.

Meanwhile, the militaries of both South Korea and Japan said they scrambled fighter jets after at least four Chinese and four Russian warplanes entered their air defence zones yesterday.

"We believe the fact that this action was taken during the Quad summit makes it more provocative than in the past," said Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi.

BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE