Japan will provide drones and technology to Argentina to strengthen maritime control against illegal Chinese fishing

In a move with strong geopolitical and strategic impact, Japan announced the launch of an assistance program aimed at strengthening the maritime surveillance capacity of South American countries that face growing pressure from Chinese fishing fleets that operate illegally or irregularly in bordering international waters. The initiative will benefit Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, and Ecuador, four key nations in the defense of the natural resources of the South Atlantic and South Pacific.

The program, confirmed by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and reported by Nikkei Asia, includes the shipment of surveillance drones, inflatable patrol boats, and advanced technological equipment for the analysis of aerial images. Tokyo allocated a total of 300 million yen for this purpose, equivalent to USD 1.9 million, which will be channeled through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

According to official sources, the technology will make it possible to identify more precisely the registration of the vessels, the size of their crews, and the routes followed by the ships, a central aspect in the face of a practice that is increasingly widespread among Chinese fleets: the deliberate deactivation of GPS transponders to avoid satellite tracking.

International concern is not new. Chinese fishing fleets maintain an active presence in the vicinity of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, and then move down off the coasts of Peru and Chile. In the South Atlantic, intense activity has been confirmed in waters near Argentina and Uruguay. These fleets are suspected not only of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, but also of carrying out sensitive information-gathering tasks, such as seabed mapping.

In Argentina, the phenomenon reached alarming levels during the last decade. According to data from Global Fishing Watch cited by the media, fishing activity in the area known as the "201st Mile," located at the outer limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone, went from 61,727 hours per 500 square kilometers in 2013 to 384,046 hours in 2023. This is exponential growth that exposes the magnitude of the problem.

In the face of this scenario, the Argentine Naval Prefecture recently reported that it reinforced the monitoring of "more than 500 foreign fishing vessels that will arrive at the 201st Mile in the next squid season," of which 148 have already been detected "in transit". According to the same report, most of these vessels come from China, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Local researchers also raised alarms over alleged seabed prospecting tasks. The Chinese trawler Lu Qing Yuan Yu 205, which in 2016 had been caught carrying out illegal fishing within the Argentine Sea, was detected this year executing grid movements compatible with mapping tasks on the Argentine Continental Shelf. Milko Schvarzman, a researcher at the Environmental Policy Circle, stated this.

Japanese support comes in a context in which Javier Milei's government has placed emphasis on the defense of sovereignty, order, and strict compliance with the law, including the control of the country's strategic resources. The strengthening of maritime monitoring and cooperation with powers that share democratic values and respect for international norms are part of a firmer foreign policy aligned with national interests.

The problem goes beyond environmental and economic issues. In Ecuador, one of the most serious episodes occurred in 2017, when the authorities captured the Chinese freighter Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 inside the Galápagos marine reserve, transporting 6,623 sharks of various species. Added to this are complaints about possible abuses of the human rights of workers on board illegal fishing vessels, who are subjected to long working days in extreme conditions and without temperature control.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, many of these workers come from Southeast Asia. Intensifying measures against illegal fishing in South America would not only make it possible to protect natural resources, but would also improve working conditions and strengthen Japan's ties with the countries of that region.