The US Coast Guard and Kiribati police this month boarded two Chinese fishing boats during a patrol against illegal fishing in the Pacific Islands nation’s vast exclusive economic zone, but found no issues aboard, a coast guard official said.
The US is seeking a bigger role for its coast guard in helping remote Pacific Island nations monitor millions of kilometers of ocean — a rich tuna fishing ground — in a move that also boosts surveillance as a rivalry with China over security ties in the region intensifies.
Reuters on Friday reported that Chinese police are working in Kiribati, with uniformed officers involved in community policing and a crime database program.
Kiribati, a nation of 115,000, is considered strategic despite being small, as it is relatively close to Hawaii and controls a 3.5 million square kilometer exclusive economic zone. It is also host to a Japanese satellite tracking station.
Washington has flagged plans to build an embassy in Kiribati to compete with China, but has not yet done so.
Kiribati police officers were on patrol with the US Coast Guard as “ship riders” for the first time in a almost a decade between Feb. 11 and Feb. 16, a US Coast Guard Guam spokeswoman said.
“The two People’s Republic of China flagged fishing vessels were boarded as part of routine maritime law enforcement activities to ensure compliance with regulations within the Kiribati Exclusive Economic Zone,” the spokeswoman said in e-mailed comments.
No concerns were reported during the boardings, she said.
“Both Kiribati officers from the Kiribati Police Maritime Unit and US Coast Guard officers were involved in the boarding operations. This collaboration underscores the partnership between the two nations in upholding maritime law and good governance,” she added.
The Kiribati president’s office and Chinese embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
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