The Canadian government is supporting the Philippine National Coast Watch Center's satellite monitoring efforts, which is a key step toward combating unlawful fishing in the developing country.
According to Reuters, through this collaboration, Canada's cutting-edge "Dark Vessel Detection System," which uses satellite technology to follow illegal fishers even when they make an effort to turn off their location-tracking gadgets, will be accessible to the Philippines.
Combating illegal fishing is extremely difficult to do all around the Philippine archipelago, especially in disputed South China Sea zones. In recent months, the Philippine Coast Guard has issued reports that Chinese fishing and coast guard ships turn off their location-tracking technology to escape inspection.
Enforcing Marine Security
Officials from Canada and the Philippines signed the agreement in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. It aims to improve marine security and address the problem of illegal fishing. While the agreement's terms are unknown, it is a vital step in strengthening relations between the two nations.
Since numerous governments claim the South China Sea, disagreements have persisted. An arbitration tribunal dismissed China's historical claims to a large South China Sea territory in 2016. Despite the Philippines' request, China refused to arbitrate because it considered the ruling illegal.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei claim the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest maritime routes, together with China and the Philippines.
Canada is one of several Western nations that have pushed China and others to follow the 2016 arbitration ruling to resolve South China Sea disputes.
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Illegal Fishing is a Grave Problem in The Philippines
The Philippines' fishing sector still struggles, but the Canada pact is a positive start toward eliminating unlawful fishing in the region. Philippine experts and fisherfolk leaders had raised concerns over overfishing, uncontrolled fishing, fisheries law, and regulatory enforcement, including vessel monitoring device installation.
The vice president of Oceana, a global advocacy group for ocean preservation, Atty. Gloria Estenzo Ramos underlined the need for safeguarding and maintaining the Philippines' marine resources.
"While the Philippines is endowed with rich marine and aquatic resources - making us 'the center of the center of marine biodiversity in the world,' in a study among scientists, led by Dr. Kent Carpenter - we have not been very good stewards in ensuring the protection, preservation, and sustainability of our fish and marine resources and habitats," she noted, per Oceana's news release.
Dr. Wilfredo Campos, a University of the Philippines Visayas fisheries specialist, supported Ramos' statement and blamed overfishing and illegal fishing for the 1990s fish population decline.
Recent Philippine Armed Forces observations of Chinese fishing vessels within the South China Sea's Philippine Economic Exclusion Zone have sparked concerns. USNI reported that on June 30, a Philippine Navy patrol plane saw 48 Chinese fishing vessels near the Iroquois Reef. From prior observations, there has been a noticeable rise in this, pointing to an increasing trend in the number of Chinese fishing boats in the region.
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