Biden Signs Security Memorandum Against Illegal Fishing
U.S. President Joe Biden signed a national security memorandum aimed at China on the 27th (local time). After agreeing to establish a real-time monitoring and response system for China’s illegal fishing at the Quad summit, China has stepped up its checks on China’s expansion of its maritime influence. The U.S. also began negotiations with Taiwan to sign a trade and investment agreement, pressuring China from all directions.
The White House said on the same day, “President Biden signed a national security memorandum to eradicate illegal fishing during his trip to Europe.” The National Security Memorandum includes the U.S., the U.K., and Canada forming an alliance to eradicate illegal, unreported, and U.S. regulatory (IU) operations to strengthen monitoring and response to illegal operations. Biden also ordered a working group of 21 U.S. government agencies to submit a five-year plan to eradicate illegal fishing by the end of next month.
“China is one of the leading illegal fishing countries,” a senior Biden administration official said. “We demand that China faithfully fulfill its promises to eradicate illegal fishing and participate in international efforts to fight against illegal fishing activities and support it.” “We will push for measures to restrict access to the market (of marine products) produced through illegal fishing or forced labor,” he stressed.
The Biden administration also said it would seek to sign agreements with Taiwan, Vietnam, Ecuador, Panama and Senegal to deal with illegal fishing. An official from the Biden administration explained, “These five countries have expressed their willingness to eradicate illegal fishing,” but some observers say the agreement could allow the U.S. to jointly respond to Chinese illegal fishing in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. China is warning of the passage of U.S. ships, saying, “The Taiwan Strait is not an international waters.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said it held its first meeting with Taiwan to sign the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on Trade in the 21st Century. The agreement, which consists of 11 sectors including trade, regulation and agriculture, aims to strengthen semiconductor cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan, while Taiwan is excluded from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), an economic cooperation for checking China. China previously said it opposes negotiations on economic and trade agreements between Taiwan and other countries, which are part of China.안전놀이터