China’s Embassy here yesterday rejected a claim by a visiting US Admiral that hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels had trespassed last year in Ecuador’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
At a function yesterday at State House, visiting Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, Admiral Craig S. Faller said: “Illegal fishing is a global significant problem and it is impacting food security globally. We have seen recent incidents off the waters of Ecuador where a Chinese fishing fleet of up to 300 vessels was proven to have incurred into that economic zone”.
China’s Embassy here in a statement said that it has repeatedly denounced this allegation.
“It is widely known that the high seas of the southeast Pacific Ocean are traditional fishing grounds for various countries. In addition to China, fishing vessels from other countries are also operating in the region. As a responsible major country in fishing, China has always attached great importance to the protection of the marine environment and resources, and has exercised the strictest management and control measures over fishing vessels operating overseas. China has not found any Chinese fishing vessels operating inside the EEZ of Ecuador and has not received any reports of Chinese vessels illegally positioned from regional fisheries management organizations.
“China will continuously fight with a `zero tolerance’ attitude to any form of illegal fishing and stands ready to work with all countries and international organizations to promote the conservation and the long-term sustainable use of global fishery resources. Should the Guyanese side find any factual evidence of illegal fishing of the Chinese vessels in Guyana and provide the evidence to the Chinese side, we will never tolerate but deal with it strictly in accordance with relevant laws”, the statement said.
