THE United States solely benefits from the shiprider agreements it signed with some Pacific Island Countries (PICs) as the latter lack the capability to exercise the same rights.
This was stated by the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Friday 11 April in Beijing during a press conference.
The China Daily asked for Beijing’s comment on reports in which experts pointed out that the US’s shiprider agreements with Fiji and other PICs only grant the US privileges, and are not equal, adding that these agreements provide a backdoor for the US to arbitrarily inspect Chinese fishing boats in the waters of PICs.
Lin said China noted the shiprider agreements, and that according to UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), the sovereign right, relevant law enforcement right and jusrisdiction concerning fisheries matters belong exclusively to the coastal states.
“By signing shiprider agreements with some PICs, the US gets a major say and could even take over in these countries’ coastal law enforcement, putting a serious dent in the maritime legal order provided by UNCLOS.
“Despite the ostensible reciprocal expressions in some agreements, relevant Pacific Island countries have no capability at all to exercise the same rights as the US does. It’s essentially the US that solely benefits from the agreements,” he asserted.
Lin said China always respects the sovereign rights and exclusive jurisdiction that coastal states enjoy in their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in accordance with international law, fully fulfils flag state’s obligations, exercises strict supervision over distant-water fisheries, and carries out cooperation on the conservation and use of fisheries resources with relevant countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
“China opposes any country resorting to political manipulation, interfering in other countries’ affairs or driving a wedge between other countries under the pretext of combating the so-called illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” he added.
The US has stated that its partnership with several Pacific Island nations through bilateral pacts known as shiprider agreements allow the host-nation enforcement personnel to ride on US Coast Guard vessels and some US naval ships in the Pacific region and the joint teams will leverage the host nation’s authourities and the US fleet’s to enforce maritime laws and protect natural resources and the environment.
Apart from Fiji, other PICs that signed a shiprider agreement with the US include Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
By DELI-SHARON OSO
In Beijing, China
