China's Fishing Fleet Called "Weapon" by US Lawmakers in IUU Probe

Chairman John Moolenaar of the US Select Committee on China and Chairman Carlos Gimenez of the US House Homeland Security Committee's Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee released an investigation which details how China commands the world's largest Distant-Water Fishing (DWF) fleet - estimated to include upwards of 16,000 vessels and uses it to intimidate other nations, control the world's food supply, and decimate fisheries around the world, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), stated.

The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party says it is committed to working on a bipartisan basis to build consensus on the "threat posed by the CCP" and develop a plan of action to defend the American people, economy, and values.

The statement added: "The fleet also relies on forced labour and human rights abuses that go unchecked while China monopolizes seafood processing. More than 80 per cent of US seafood is imported, and much of it relies on supply chains controlled by China."

Moolenaar mentioned that investigation has revealed how the CCP used unregulated fishing to its advantage and manipulated the food supply of the world.

"The Select Committee has documented how numerous American industries have supply chain concerns that leave the United States vulnerable to China, and the food supply is no exception. This investigation details how the CCP turned unregulated fishing to its advantage and manipulated the world's food supply in the process. Working with allies we can address vulnerabilities to the food supply the American people rely on and put a stop to China's exploitation of the oceans," he said.

Carlos Gimenez termed Communist China's fishing fleet "a weapon of the Chinese Communist Party." He said that US' national security is impacted due to Communist Chinese strategy to monopolize food systems.

Gimenez stated, "Communist China's fishing fleet is not a commercial enterprise; it is a weapon of the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP commands the world's largest fishing armada like a military force, using it to strip resources from nations, exploit forced labour, destroy marine ecosystems, and dominate global seafood supply chains. The Communist Chinese strategy to monopolize food systems, while devastating economies from West Africa to Latin America, have directly impacted our national security."

"Our laws were written to regulate fishermen, not to confront a subsidized, state-run fleet designed to evade enforcement and project power. This investigation exposes the reality: the CCP is using seafood as a tool of coercion, and the United States must treat this threat for what it is, a direct threat to our national security and economic sovereignty," he added.

According to the committee, the investigation has revealed that China developed a global system that removes distance as a limit on fishing. China has monopolised the processing of global seafood supplies through Chinese hubs, China gained a permanent, state-supported cost advantage in all major production inputs. Furthermore, China converted seafood processing dominance in global seafood processing power and manipulates global seafood markets to end US processing capacity and raise American dependence.

The probe stated that these findings have revealed a "deliberate, state-directed campaign by the CCP to achieve maritime dominance, monopolise food systems, and undermine the rules-based international order - constituting a direct threat to US national security, economic sovereignty, and global stability."

- IANS