Quad Summit could launch satellite-based maritime initiative to counter Chinese illegal fishing in Indo-Pacific region

The US, Japan, Australia and India are expected to launch a satellite-based maritime initiative to counter Chinese illegal fishing at the Quad Summit in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The proposed initiative will use satellite technology to connect existing surveillance centres in Singapore, India and the Pacific region to create a tracking system for illegal fishing from the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia to the South Pacific, ET has learnt.

It is aimed at monitoring illegal fishing even when the boats have turned off the transponders which are typically used to track vessels, according to one of the people familiar with the issue.

Several countries in the Indo-Pacific region have been expressing reservations at China's vast fishing fleet which they claim 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," US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said recently, speaking at a forum at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"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 had said.

"We're looking at capabilities that will continue to track shipping" when vessels fishing illegally turn off electronic identifiers, he had said.

A number of countries are stepping up efforts with patrol boats and training.

But China claims that 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.

The US Coast Guard has claimed that illegal fishing has outpaced piracy as the top global maritime security threat, and risks heightening tensions among countries vying for overexploited fishing stocks. It has called on China to exercise more responsible control over its vessels.

While Washington and its allies shared concerns in the Pacific, there had not been as much coordination as might be expected, given "the new strategic circumstances", Campbell had said.

"It is essential to step up coordination, engagement, partnership, sharing of information," he had said. "This is not just the United States, Australia, New Zealand. It's Japanese friends, it's Korean friends, it's friend from the EU as well."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet members of the Indian diaspora and business leaders in Tokyo on Monday. “Japan is home to nearly 40,000 members of the Indian diaspora, who are an important anchor in our relations with Japan. I look forward to interacting with them,” Modi said in a pre-departure statement.

Modi, referring to the business partnership, said: “Economic cooperation between India and Japan is an important aspect of our special strategic and global partnership. During the March Summit, PM Kishida and I had announced our intention to realize JPY 5 trillion in public and private investment and financing over the next five years from Japan to India. During the forthcoming visit, I will meet with Japanese business leaders with the goal of further strengthening economic linkages between our countries, in pursuit of this objective.”

Meanwhile, at the Quad Summit, India will pitch for an inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Since its first Summit, Quad has been working to implement a positive and constructive agenda with a strong focus on enabling peace, prosperity, and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, according to foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra.

Quad’s Infrastructure Coordination Group has been deliberating on supporting sustainable and demand-driven infrastructure in the region in a manner that doesn't burden countries of the region with unsustainable debt. Cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, biotechnology, diversification of semiconductor supply chain and security of critical cyber infrastructure are other key priority areas of cooperative measures in the Quad.

Continuing cooperation on Covid response, and post-Covid management of economy and health infrastructure are also important elements. These include last-mile delivery, health security, genomic surveillance, clinical trials, and pandemic preparedness as their important elements. Quad would also organise a special session on the side lines of the World Health Assembly later this month on promoting vaccine confidence and fighting infodemic on Tuesday.

The upcoming summit in Tokyo would therefore provide the leaders with an opportunity to take stock of the progress made thus far on Quad’s initiatives and also give guidance for the future. Developments in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues of mutual interest might also come up for discussion.