r/internationalpolitics – Chinese fishing vessels seized in the Pacific (In Vanuatu ). ‘The crew is facing investigation after undergoing quarantine in Port Vila.’

Authorities claimed the Dong Gang Xing 13 and Dong Gang Xing 16 were fishing in Vanuatu’s northern waters near the remote Torres islands. Vanuatu’s department of fisheries, the police maritime wing, and a French naval reconnaissance plane from New Caledonia had monitored the ships before they were detained by a Vanuatu patrol boat. The crew is facing investigation after undergoing quarantine in Port Vila.

The incident in Vanuatu came just a month after Palau, a former US Pacific territory, detained a Chinese-flagged vessel and its 28 crew, also for allegedly harvesting sea cucumber in its waters. In December, Palau’s president-elect Surangel Whipps Jr announced he would oppose Chinese “bullying,” declaring the small archipelago nation would stand by its “true friends,” the US and Taiwan. Palau is one of only four of Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies in the region after the Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 2019.

Canberra raised concerns late last year about “national security” and “potential overfishing” and dispatched officials to Daru for “discussions.” Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne told the Australian parliament that the government had contacted the PNG government to ensure Australian interests are “fully safeguarded.” She warned the Australian Border Force would patrol the Torres Strait to ensure that “traditional-only” fishing rules were enforced. “Commercial-scale fisheries would not be considered a traditional activity under the Torres Strait Treaty and would not be permitted,” Payne declared.