The US on Monday said that it would step up cooperation with Vietnam and Taiwan among others to combat illegal fishing, a problem that environmentalists and Western nations increasingly attribute to China.
As a major UN conference opened in Portugal on restoring the planet’s ailing oceans, US President Joe Biden signed a memorandum that aimed to step up coordination and enforcement within the US government against illegal fishing and the use of forced labor.
The White House said the US also plans new engagement with Ecuador, Panama, Senegal, Taiwan and Vietnam on fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Photo: CNA
An administration official said, without further detail, that the cooperation would include “capacity building” as part of a strategic plan.
The US identified the five “not because they are the primary offenders of IUU fishing, but because they have expressed a willingness to work with the United States to combat IUU fishing in their countries,” she told reporters on customary condition of anonymity.
US officials generally avoid describing Taiwan as a country as the US only recognizes Beijing.
Vietnam also has intense maritime disputes with Beijing, which claims large stretches of the South China Sea and has sought to enforce its own fishing regulations.
Another official said that, while the new US effort does not target any nation, China “is a leading contributor to IUU fishing worldwide, and has impeded progress on the development of measures to combat IUU fishing and overfishing in international organizations.”
A report by the Environmental Justice Foundation said that China by far has the world’s largest fleet capable of fishing in distant waters and that there have been frequent complaints of abuse.
The British advocacy group said that crew members from Indonesia and Ghana in interviews recounted Chinese captains imposing excessive hours without pay, meting out threats or actual violence, and providing low-quality food that led to diarrhea and other maladies.
Meanwhile, the US military yesterday said that a US Navy aircraft’s flight through the Taiwan Strait last week demonstrated Washington’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, after China complained it endangered peace and stability.
“US Navy vessels and aircraft routinely interact with foreign warships and aircraft while operating throughout the region,” the US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. “All interactions with foreign military forces during the transit were consistent with international norms and did not impact the operation.”
“The United States will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows, including within the Taiwan Strait. The aircraft’s transit of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific” region, the statement said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS