Chile on alert after spotting Chinese boats near Arica y Parinacota region of Pacific

Chile’s naval command forces on December 4 were put on alert after trawlers from the Chinese fleet suspected of illegal fishing were spotted by the patrollers in the Arica y Parinacota region near Chile’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Pacific. Chile’s navy has routinely detected Chinese-flagged fishing vessels scrounging for hydrobiological resources at the height Coronel, across squid fishing sectors via satellite imagery.  According to sources of Bio Bio’s local news outlet Agency One, the Chinese vessels navigated within 200 miles of EEZ that had horse mackerel in abundance. Post a detailed inspection operation done in co-ordination with an Immediate Response Group, the Chilean navy intercepted the Chinese vessels' manoeuvres via joint overflight, coordinated between the Chilean Navy and National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca), Directorate of Communications from the Navy said in a statement. 

Chile’s OPV “Piloto Pardo”, an Air Maritime Exploration Plane and a Dauphin Helicopter, earlier, had scrambled into an operation after reports of Chinese fishing fleet trawl off Ecuador’s the Galápagos Islands emerged. Ecuadorian Navy issued a warning that a foreign fishing fleet of about 260 vessels was stationed just outside Ecuador’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) were sailing southward into Peruvian waters, approaching Chile’s exclusive economic zone. The Chinese flagged vessels had deactivated its satellite-based automatic identification systems (AIS) as it encroached Chilean maritime boundaries to trespass into South American ‘squid circuit’ along the strait of Magellan. 

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[Naval Helicopter “Cougar” on the flight deck of one of Chile's frigates of the National Squadron. Credit: Armada de Chile]

[Chilean vessel at Magellan Strait Crossing.Credit: Armada de Chile]

South American quartet Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru joined forces last month in a bid to combat Chinese fleet’s illegal activities in sovereign waters. In a joint statement, the four-nation threatened measures to “to prevent, discourage and jointly confront” Chinese flagged vessels. The quartet added that it would boost “cooperation and real-time exchange of information” to detect the threats from the vessel fleet that were difficult to locate as half of them had turned tracking systems off. Chinese fleet skirted the edge of the EEZ using overhead lights and industrial jigging machines to carry out 73,000-hour fishing streak “going dark at sea” for up to 17 days at a time, according to HawkEye 360’s investigation of the vessels. 

'Belligerent and expansionist' agenda

To combat the illegal fishing threats from Chinese vessels in the Pacific, the US had strategically homeported the enhanced Quick Response Cutters to expand the presence of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) in the maritime region of the western Pacific Ocean. US alleged China Communist Party (CCP’s) “unlawful, unreported, and unregulated fishing and harassment of vessels”. US National Security Advisor, Robert C O’Brien reprimanded China’s belligerence and expansionist agenda in the Pacific territorial waters. O'Brien told White House briefing that the US vessels will be deployed in American Samoa to malign CCP’s actions threatening the sovereignty of its Pacific neighbours, and endangering regional stability.

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(Image Credit: Twitter/Armada de Chile)