US to work with Taiwan, Vietnam against illegal fishing

WASHINGTON

The United States has said it will step up cooperation with Vietnam and Taiwan among others to combat illegal fishing, a problem that environmentalists and Western nations increasingly attribute to China.

U.S. President Joe Biden signed a memorandum that aimed to step up coordination and enforcement within the US government against illegal fishing and the use of forced labor.

The White House said the United States also plans new engagement with Ecuador, Panama, Senegal, Taiwan and Vietnam on fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, dubbed “IUU” in environmental jargon.

An administration official said, without further detail, that the cooperation would include “capacity building” as part of a strategic plan.

The United States identified the five “not because they are the primary offenders of IUU fishing but because they have expressed a willingness to work with the United States to combat IUU fishing in their countries,” she told reporters on customary condition of anonymity.

U.S. officials generally avoid describing Taiwan as a country as the United States only recognizes Beijing, which considers the pro-Western self-governing democracy to be part of its territory.

Vietnam also has intense maritime disputes with Beijing, which claims large stretches of the South China Sea and has sought to enforce its own fishing rules.