The US Coast Guard and Kiribati police boarded two Chinese fishing boats during a patrol against illegal fishing in the Pacific Islands nation’s vast exclusive economic zone this month but found no issues aboard, a coast guard official said.
Kiribati police officers were on patrol with the US Coast Guard as “ship riders” for the first time in a almost a decade, between Feb. 11-16, a U.S. Coast Guard Guam spokeswoman said.
“The two People’s Republic of China (PRC) flagged fishing vessels were boarded as part of routine maritime law enforcement activities to ensure compliance with regulations within the Kiribati Exclusive Economic Zone,” the spokeswoman said in an emailed comments.
No concerns were reported during the boardings, she said.