Quad nations plan joint coast guard patrols as China gets more aggressive, report says

Editor’s Note: This piece by Seth Robson features quotes from CSP Senior Fellow, Grant Newsham.

The United States, Australia, India and Japan are planning joint coast guard and maritime police patrols amid growing Chinese activity in the region, according to unnamed diplomatic sources cited Monday by Japan’s Kyodo News.

The plan aims to stem illegal fishing and may be included in a joint statement issued at a summit of the four nations, known as the Quad, for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, on Saturday in Delaware, the agency reported.

It comes as clashes grow in number between Manila and Beijing over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

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If the four nations pool efforts, especially surveillance and intelligence resources, and target and locate “high value” targets, such as fishing boats that have turned off electronic identification beacons, and inflict real punishment, that would be helpful, said retired Marine Col. Grant Newsham, a senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo.

“They might also target particular areas where the illegal fishing is most pronounced — and help out certain countries that have particular problems,” he said by email Monday.

New Zealand-based security expert Paul Buchanan said he doesn’t expect the Quad patrols to have a major impact on illegal fishing, especially if China’s military starts escorting fishing boats.

The move signals intent, he said by email Monday, “perhaps with the idea of curtaining illegal Chinese fishing in the first place, particularly in the Indian Ocean and blue water Western Pacific.”

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