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China goes
fishing
By Li
YongYan
China is fast becoming a formidable
sea power of the other marine variety. It doesn't
yet have monstrous aircraft carriers capable of
delivering awesome fire power in the world's seven
seas, but there is a huge fleet of small fishing
trawlers flying Chinese flags that sail the ocean
blue.
Yes, the Chinese like fish, too,
braised or steamed. So the nets are cast far and
wide, harvesting not only the delicious protein
but also the ire of its near, and not so near
neighbors. On February 28, South Korea charged
that in the preceding 12 days alone, as many as
152 Chinese boats were "detained" for illegal
fishing activities in Korea's "Exclusive Economic
Zone". These offending vessels from China,
according to Korea's coast guards, often fail to
abide by the bilateral fishing protocol between
the two countries and operate in forbidden areas.
This is not the first time China infringed on
Korea's exclusive economic zones. On September 28,
Korea intercepted two 125-ton Chinese trawlers at
roughly the same spot.
Apparently,
gunboats and diplomatic protest notes are not
adequate deterrents for the fish-hungry Chinese.
Just as Korean sea patrols were rounding up the
hundred or so Chinese ships, another 20 Chinese
fishing boats crossed the Equator and steamed
straight into the custody of Papua New Guinea for
violating the waters of that small Pacific island
country, according to Australian media reports.
No corner of the world is too far for the
Chinese. South America is now within easy reach of
Chinese seafarers. On November 19, 219 Chinese
fishermen on board nine Chinese fishing vessels
got into trouble in Peruvian territorial waters,
and were escorted by the Peruvian navy into
holding pens at a Peru port 10 miles from Lima.
So what makes China, a traditionally
earth-bound nation, increasingly adventurous in
the high seas? It is the economy, of course. With
China's economic growth averaging over 8% annually
since 1978, wealth is increasing at an
unprecedented rate and with it, the diet begins to
go upscale. Per capita consumption of fishery
products rose two-fold from 2.5 kilograms in 1988
to 5.2kg in 2002. Aquaculture accounted for a mere
2% of the total agricultural output in 1980 but
exploded 500% to 11% in 2000. Export of fresh
water and sea products is a lucrative business.
From 2002, China overtook Thailand as the biggest
exporter of fishery produce in the world. Last
year, sales of 2.42 million tons of fish to the
world market earned China US$6.9 billion. The
problem, however, is that such healthy demand both
at home and abroad far outstrips the domestic
production, estimated at 48.5 million metric tons
in 2004.
Fewer fresh-water rivers and
coastal waters are now clean enough for
aquaculture production, due to the boom in
industrial manufacturing that adds relentlessly to
the pollution. For example, China's state-owned
petroleum companies operate over 100 oil rigs in
the Yellow Sea, making vast sea areas unfit for
fish to lay eggs, driving away the fragile sea
life. Tianjin's many chemical mills discharge
their waste directly into the sea leaving a wake
of destruction on the surface of the sea. After
each such deadly release, fishermen have to take
days off, hanging up their nets in frustration.
Nearby, the port of Tanggu is busy expanding its
already impressive array of wharfs and berths,
gobbling up another 200 acres of sea, threatening
the biggest fishing ground off the coastal city in
northern China.
Policy, too, contributes
heavily to the outward expansion of Chinese
fishery production. Worried about the dwindling
supply of fish in coastal seas, China is now
looking beyond its borders. Beginning from 1999,
the government ordered a "fallow period", about
two to three months each year, in the Yellow and
East seas, affecting as many as 110,000 vessels
and more than one million people making a living
out of the seas. The temporary ban has since then
been extended to the Yangtze River and its
tributaries. In 2003, the central government
further tightened its control on building and
sales of new fishing vessels in an effort to put
30,000 smaller ships out of business by 2010. To
sweeten the deal, China provides a subsidy to
fishermen who are forced to scuttle their ships.
At the same time, deep-sea fishing has
received a boost from preferential policies and
encouragement by the government. Today over 1,800
ocean-going fishing vessels of Chinese registry
are plying the waters near some 40 countries in
three oceans.
Strength does come from
numbers sometimes. Thus it becomes inevitable this
big fleet gets more and more adventurous and
closer and closer to other people's territories.
It is true that the Chinese government has tried
to rein in the ever-expanding fishermen from
trespassing. Beijing has signed bilateral
agreements with many of its Asian neighbors and
participated in joint police actions with Korean,
Vietnamese and even the United States coast guards
in catching its own fishing boats in international
waters.
However, the economic incentive
proves too much to resist. The shrinking home turf
makes it necessary to defy foreign law and danger
in order to survive. The Gulf of Tonkin is
particularly rife with strife between China and
Vietnam, which is equally anxious for economic
growth. Rivalry between fishermen from the two
countries routinely escalates into diplomatic
disputes. In one month alone in 2003, Vietnam
detained seven Chinese vessels that were accused
of marine "breaking and entering". Not one to show
weakness to a former vassal state, China began
flexing its own naval muscles. On January 8 this
year, machine guns roared on the sea of Tonkin and
nine Vietnamese fishermen were killed. Hanoi
demands Beijing punish the "murderous" Chinese
fishermen, while China maintains that it acted in
self-defense against "foreign pirates".
At
this rate, should China's navy ever acquire an
aircraft carrier or two, its large international
fleet of fishing vessels will soon ride high and
plough deep through every square mile on the seven
seas.
Li YongYan is an analyst
of Chinese finance, political and social
trends.
(Copyright 2005 Asia Times
Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us
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