Leaders of the influential regional alliance Quad have adopted a sea surveillance plan in the Indo-Pacific region. Through this, they are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . promising to give ‘real benefits’ to the countries of the region.
Analysts say this is the most important step the United States and its quad allies have taken so far to deal with China, although nowhere in the plan is China’s name directly mentioned.
The Quad says the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) plan will help identify illegal activities, including illegal fishing, in the Pacific islands, in Southeast Asian countries and in the Indian Ocean.
Although the Quad Alliance does not name China, the new initiative aims to resolve long-standing allegations of Chinese militia ships infiltrating disputed waters in the South China Sea, as well as unauthorized fishing by Chinese vessels in the region’s exclusive economic zone.
The unofficial regional alliance Quad of Australia, India, Japan and the United States did not elaborate on their new planning initiatives. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told the Financial Times that the quad plans to provide satellite tracking services to Indo-Pacific countries to provide free maritime intelligence.
Under this service, radio waves and radar signals will be monitored in the respective maritime areas. Even if a vessel’s automatic information system (AIS) is switched off, it will be possible to monitor it and its location will be communicated to the rest of the vessels through the existing network in the area.
Greg Polling, a Southeast Asia official at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US-based think tank, described the Quad IPMDA project as ambitious. However he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Greg Polling said: “These efforts will increase the ability to monitor illegal fishing and the activities of Chinese paramilitary forces at sea, and will significantly reduce costs. ‘
The Chinese navy is said to be the largest maritime fleet in the world, with 3,000 ships and a large subsidy from the Chinese government. According to the Global Illegal Fishing Index, which monitors illegal, unauthorized and unregulated fishing around the world, the Chinese navy is the worst in the world.
Between 2015 and 2019, Chinese vessels have been accused of fishing at least 236 times without a license. In recent years, several Chinese vessels have been detained in Vanuatu, Palau, Malaysia and South Korea for illegal fishing or unauthorized entry. There are also instances of squid hunting in the North Korean Sea, leaving the transponder and identification system off.
According to the Environmental Justice Foundation, Chinese vessels also hunt endangered and protected species of marine animals in addition to the common fish.
China, however, denies any of the allegations. On the contrary, they adhere strictly to international policy.
China’s activities at sea are not limited to poaching. Analysts believe their behavior has more to do with regional concerns. There are allegations that fishing boats are also used as Chinese paramilitary vehicles and operate in resource-rich areas of the South China Sea. Those ships have a role to play in maintaining China’s dominance in disputed parts of the South China Sea.
However, China denies the existence of any kind of paramilitary forces. Beijing’s comments on the location of Chinese fishing boats in the disputed waters, the bad weather and the fact that the fishing boats are located in different areas just to take refuge.
China denies all allegations and says of the Quad’s recent plan to form small alliances and incite conflict is a real threat to peaceful, stable and cooperative maritime order. Source: Al Jazeera
