IFC-IOR to check China overfishing:

GS Paper2 :

Syllabus: India and neighbourhood relations.

Context:

Quad nations — Australia, India, Japan and the United States — are reported to be getting ready to unveil a maritime surveillance initiative to protect exclusive economic zones in the Indo-Pacific against environmental damage.

• The aim is to push back especially against massive and reckless deepwater fishing by Chinese trawlers in the region.
• For this, the Quad nations could utilise Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR).

About the maritime surveillance initiative:

It will bring together existing surveillance centres in Singapore, India, and the Pacific to create a tracking system for illegal unregulated and unreported fishing (IUUF) in the Indo-Pacific region.

Need for:

Chinese trawler fleets are seen as responsible for most of the IUUF in the Indo-Pacific region, and the initiative is likely to be viewed as a Quad pressure point against China.

• In recent years, IUUF has been seen as growing into a bigger threat to maritime states than international piracy.
• Studies have said that unregulated and unreported fishing are bigger challenges than illegal fishing, as they deplete stocks and deprive vulnerable regional economies of an important food source.
• China is the world’s biggest offender in this regard, and is believed to be responsible for 80% to 95% of the illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific.

About IFC-IOR:

• The IFC-IOR was set up in 2018 to coordinate with regional countries on maritime issues and act as a regional repository of maritime data.
• It presently has linkages with more than 50 partner countries and multi-national agencies across the globe.
• It is located in Gurugram, India.
• The centre was established as part of the government’s SAGAR (Security and Growth For All in the Region) framework for maritime co-operation in the Indian Ocean region.
• It hosts international liaison officers from partner countries, which include both India’s immediate neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and from further afield.

Insta Curious:

Have you heard about the U.K. Carrier Strike Group (CSG)? Reference: read this.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. What is IFC- IOR?
2. What is the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC)?
3. Locate Persian Gulf and strait of Hormuz.

Mains Link:

Discuss how observer status at the Indian Ocean Commission helps India secure its strategic objectives.

[Q.2) Which of the following nations are part of QUAD grouping?

1. 1. Australia
   2. India
   3. Japan
   4. The United States
   5. China

Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1. 1 and 2 only
   2. 2 and 3 only
   3. 4 and 5 only
   4. 1, 2, 3 and 4 only. ]

Sources: Indian Express.