Quad to unveil 'eye in sky' to check Chinese illegal fishing in Indo-Pacific

Ahead of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue on May 24, the top leaders of the four nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, newly elected Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida will hold talks with an aim to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Tokyo: In order to check China's illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific region, the Quadrilateral Security Alliance (Quad ) has planned to launch a satellite-based maritime security initiative. The satellite-based system will allow the Quad nations to keep an eye on China and monitor illegal fishing even when fishing boats have turned off the transponders.

Ahead of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue on May 24, the top leaders of the four nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, newly elected Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida will hold talks with an aim to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific, the media reported. The Quad members will have economic and security interests that span the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The Quad countries are expected to launch a satellite-based maritime initiative aimed at curbing illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific region. The launch is aimed at stopping China from its alleged illegal fishing as the communist nation is allegedly responsible for 95 per cent of the illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific. Quad is a grouping of countries, sharing core values of democracy, pluralism and market economy, and its corporations are shaped principally by the goals of promoting peace and stability and prosperity in Indo Pacific.

The formation of the Quad group took place to keep the strategic and significant sea routes in the Indo-Pacific region to be influence free while another main objective of the alliance is to offer financial help to nations with debt in the Indo-Pacific region, Financial Times reported. China has quite often criticised the security alliance as it sees it as a mechanism to contain its global rise. The country has accused the group of being dedicated to undermining its interests.

China is also concerned about the fact that South Korea is also planning to join the Quad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Tokyo to attend the Quad leaders' summit on May 24, where he will be accompanied by his counterparts from Japan and Australia as well as US President Joe Biden. The leaders will review the progress of Quad initiatives and working groups, identify new areas of cooperation and provide strategic guidance and vision for future collaborations.

ANI