Earlier, the U.S. Coast Guard forcibly boarded Chinese fishing vessels in the exclusive economic zones of Kiribati and other countries to conduct so-called "joint law enforcement" under the pretext of shiprider agreements signed with Pacific island countries.
In response to this incident, Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong recently issued an open letter, saying that the United States has violated international law by using the shiprider agreements signed with Vanuatu, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea to "carry out law enforcement activities against Chinese fishing vessels", and that the so-called agreement of the United States is not binding on Chinese fishing vessels, and Chinese fishermen are not obliged to accept law enforcement actions by non-party countries.
In short, if Chinese fishing vessels encounter similar situations in the future, they can refuse to accept the US Coast Guard's law enforcement, and in case of emergency, they can call for support from the China Coast Guard.
Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong
It is worth noting that after the Chinese authorities made a final decision, the United States was still not convinced, and quibbled that it was a legitimate act to board a Chinese fishing boat in the waters off Taiping Island, which was in line with international law, and it was to protect the local coastal fisheries, which was extremely brazen!
And the bad head started by the United States first, and some younger brothers in the United States are also ready to move and want to follow suit. A few days ago, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol boarded a ship to inspect the site of the so-called "Strike Hard Operation on Illegal Fishing of Chinese Fishing Vessels" and demanded that the South Korean Coast Guard put the interests and safety of the people first and resolutely respond to it.
Yoon Suk-yeol asserted that the problem of illegal fishing by Chinese fishing vessels should be dealt with from the perspective of preserving the country's fishery resources, and that South Korea has not done enough in this regard in the past due to concerns about its relations with China.
Yoon Suk-yeol
So, what do you think of the actions of the United States and South Korea against Chinese fishing vessels?
Let's start with the first point. Rather than "jointly enforcing the law" with the South Pacific island countries, the United States is acting as enforcing the law on their behalf, and the countries concerned are only symbolically sending coast guards to cooperate with the US action. As a small country, they dare not speak out about the hegemonic behavior of the United States, and the so-called shiprider agreement is essentially an act of violating local sovereignty and dignity.
With the help of this agreement, the United States will act as an international coast guard in the South Pacific region on the one hand to deter small countries from obeying orders, and on the other hand, it will take the opportunity to target Chinese fishing vessels and squeeze China's "presence" and influence in the South Pacific region. In recent years, China's cooperation with Pacific island countries has deepened and it has begun to provide security assistance, but this move is seen by the United States and Australia as a challenge to its authoritarian and hegemonic status, so it has sought ways to suppress and undermine it.
It must be noted that as the countries in the South Pacific region gradually become stronger with the help of China, their waists will become harder and harder, and they will be more and more bold in saying "no" to the United States in the future.
Tonga will host an important summit of regional leaders in August, and China has offered to provide security support, and the prime minister of Tonga has bluntly said that this is nothing new and is open-minded. In the future, the United States will only suffer more and more setbacks. At the same time, China's direct notification to fishermen that they do not have to cooperate with the U.S. Coast Guard's law enforcement activities reflects the self-confidence of a major country.
Let's talk about the second point. In fact, China and South Korea agreed last year that starting May 1 this year, Chinese fishing fleets will install and maintain an internationally recognized automatic identification system when sailing in South Korea's exclusive economic zone. To a certain extent, this is China's goodwill towards South Korea.
China and South Korea
However, before May arrived, seeing that the peak crab fishing season had arrived, South Korea could not wait to preemptively strike against China and wanted to restrict the fishing activities of Chinese fishing boats. Of course, South Korea's move will only outweigh the losses.
If the ROK dares to do the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Chinese side will dare to do the 15th year, and then the Chinese fishing boats will be more flexible in their implementation. In addition, Yoon Suk-yeol's frequent touching of China's red lines such as the South China Sea will not come without a price.
South Korea has been occupying China's "Suyan Reef" for decades, and this account will have to be settled sooner or later. At present, China's sea and air patrols on Suyan Reef have become normalized. The Chinese side advised the ROK side to behave on its own and be cautious in its words and deeds, which really provoked China, and Yoon Suk-yeol should not take regret medicine until the end.
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