Canada will help the Philippines detect illegal fishing with a satellite monitoring system under a new agreement, Philippine officials announced Monday.
The agreement gives the Philippine Coastal Surveillance Center access to data from Canada’s “Hidden Vessel Detection System,” which uses satellite technology to detect illegal fishermen even if they turn off their geolocators, the ministry said Philippine Foreign Affairs.
Illegal or unregulated fishing is a problem throughout the Philippine archipelago, including in disputed waters of the South China Sea. The Philippine Coast Guard has accused Chinese fishing vessels of turning off their geolocators to avoid detection.
Canadian and Philippine officials signed the agreement last week as part of discussions in Ottawa, the Canadian capital, on how to improve relations between the two countries, the foreign ministry said, without giving further details. details.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea on historical grounds, but this was rejected by an arbitration tribunal in 2016. China has refused to participate in the arbitration requested by the Philippines and does not recognize the ruling .
Besides China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have claims to the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
Canada is among the Western countries that recognize the 2016 arbitration and have called on all countries, including China, to respect it.
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