Context
Quad nations — Australia, India, Japan and the United States, are reported to be getting ready to unveil a maritime surveillance initiative to protect exclusive economic zones in the Indo-Pacific against environmental damage.
- The aim is to push back especially against massive and reckless deep water fishing by Chinese trawlers in the region.
About the maritime surveillance initiative
- It will bring together existing surveillance centres in Singapore, India, and the Pacific to create a tracking system for illegal unregulated and unreported fishing (IUUF) in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The IOR is vital to world trade and economic prosperity of many nations.
- More than 75% of the world’s maritime trade and 50% of global oil consumption passes through the IOR.
- However, maritime terrorism, piracy, trafficking, IUUF, arms running and poaching pose myriad challenges to maritime safety and security in the region.
Need for collaborative effort
- Chinese trawler fleets are seen as responsible for most of the IUUF in the Indo-Pacific region, and the initiative is likely to be viewed as a Quad pressure point against China.
- In recent years, IUUF has been seen as growing into a bigger threat to maritime states than international piracy.
- Unregulated and unreported fishing are bigger challenges than illegal fishing, as they deplete stocks and deprive vulnerable regional economies of an important food source.
- China is the world’s biggest offender in this regard, and is believed to be responsible for 80% to 95% of the illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific.
- The scale, scope and the multi-national nature of maritime activities, make it difficult for countries to address these challenges individually.
- Hence, collaborative efforts between maritime nations in the IOR, is essential.
About IFC-IOR
- In December 2018, Indian launched the IFC-IOR, at Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) Gurugram.
- It presently has linkages with more than 50 partner countries and multi-national agencies across the globe.
- It was established for regional collaboration on maritime security issues. This includes:
- Maritime terrorism, illegal unregulated and unreported fishing (IUUF), piracy, armed robbery on the high seas, and human and contraband trafficking.
- The centre was established as part of the government’s SAGAR (Security and Growth For All in the Region) framework for maritime co-operation in the Indian Ocean region.
- It hosts international liaison officers from partner countries, which include both India’s immediate neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and from further afield.
- So far, this fusion centre has information sharing links with 50 nations and multinational/maritime centres.
