Chapter 930 Ocean Guardian
Privateers are legal pirates, and medieval Britain overthrew Spanish maritime supremacy through privateering. And almost every European nation has a tradition of privateering. But hundreds of years later, in a civilized society, how can privateers still exist?
Of course, the first to do this was the American people from the "Beautiful Country".
Everyone knows that the US is located on the east coast of the Pacific and the west coast of the Atlantic, but how far can their coast guard vessels reach? They can go to the west coast of the Pacific to conduct so-called "law enforcement," boarding and inspecting fishing boats, then declaring them "illegal fishing" and confiscating their catch.
The most important thing is: the so-called "law enforcement areas" they go to are all commercial fishing areas. Fishing boats can enter the area to fish only after completing relevant procedures. To put it bluntly, this is just a means for them to disgust China. Now the American coast guard ships directly use the Guam base as an extension of the American Coast Guard, harassing Chinese fishing boats in the East China Sea, South China Sea and other areas.
Such behavior is certainly in violation of relevant international laws, but the United States claims to be the "international rule maker" and they have a magical logic for their own behavior. They say that as the Chinese fishing fleet is getting larger and larger, China can threaten the security of the United States through reconnaissance through fishing boats. In order to protect themselves, they are "forced" to expand the scope of their operations and go directly to the coast of the western Atlantic.
In fact, they are not just targeting China. It is even worse in South America. There are American ships on the coast of Argentina catching IUU fishing and stealing the catches.
However, this kind of robbery of fishing boats is indeed quite unpleasant and embarrassing to make public, and it is also suspected of violating the crime of "piracy". Therefore, some American think tank experts have proposed that new laws should be formulated to legalize such acts of robbing fishing boats or merchant ships at sea and issue their ships a certification similar to the British "privateer license" of the time.
In fact, they're already working on legalizing armed robbery of civilian vessels. Given the US's tendency to be unremarkable, they might actually come up with a bunch of seemingly legitimate laws in the next few years that would legalize this type of piracy. But honestly, if such laws were to materialize, what would the Americans actually rob? China's Eurasian Railway would undoubtedly be a hit.
The Eurasian Railway project has long been a place for "public intellectuals" to flaunt their intelligence and assert their presence, calling it a worthless, money-losing project. In fact, initially, the project was a loss-making venture. After all, rail transport is not as cheap as sea freight or as fast as air freight, and many businesses initially resisted this mode of transportation—human habits are hard to change.
But after the Suez Canal ship jam, people's attention shifted to the Eurasian Railway: After all, the Eurasian Railway will not be delayed, right?
A blockage of the Suez Canal can greatly increase the business of the Eurasian Railway. If the Americans really come up with such ridiculous laws, the Eurasian Railway will definitely be in a booming business.
Facts have once again proved the foresight of the national think tank.
The shitty things the Americans did are not worthy of their title of "Beautiful Country". It is so ugly and sets a bad example for other countries.
Many countries in the EU originally had precedents of "privatizing licenses", so it is not difficult to restore them. Moreover, they can stand on the moral high ground: we are not "privatizing", we are protecting the world's marine fish resources and protecting all mankind.
Anyway, if you stay in Europe for a long time, you will find that there are only people like this who talk the talk but don't act the walk.
Regardless, Xiao Peng is now an EU-approved "IUU Fishing Observer," empowered to arrest IUU vessels. And with that authority, he needs weapons, right? IUU fishing is also known as the "Ocean Mafia," and those who dare to commit it are no pushovers! So, Xiao Peng installed heavy machine guns on both of his ships and his helicopter.
In fact, those who catch IUU fishing are all ruthless people.
There's an NGO called Sea Shepherd that specializes in catching IUU fish. It sounds like a noble organization, but they're even more pirate-like than pirates. Their flag is a black pirate flag with a white skull, a trident, and a magic wand crossed below. Their ship is also unforgettable: a camouflaged hull with a shark's mouth agape on the bow.
Their founder is the famous Paul Watson. Chinese people may not be familiar with this name, but this name is really well-known in the Western world. In the 1970s, he and David McGrath founded the "Greenpeace". However, because his environmental protection ideas were too radical, the two parted ways, and he founded "Sea Shepherd".
If a whaling ship or IUU fishing vessel were to encounter them, they'd be in dire straits—or rather, in their eyes, all fishing vessels are illegal. Some IUU fishing vessels, upon seeing them, would rather sink their own vessels and destroy the evidence than be harassed by them. Their methods of attack include ramming, chaining propellers, nail guns, smoke bombs, water cannons, explosives, and even homemade torpedoes... They're truly like terrorists at sea.
But he also had a lot of support, which wasn't surprising. Even a talker like the "Environmental Princess" had a lot of fans, not to mention this guy who was really risking his life. In the eyes of his fans, Paul Watson was simply "cool!" At that time, they donated money and effort to support his continued "struggle." Los Angeles casino tycoon Steve Wynn even gave him a submarine to support his "cause"!
Despite his radicalism, people often find him ineffective because he's so familiar with maritime law. Most protests take place in international waters, where legal boundaries are often blurred and enforcement is weak. Furthermore, the United Nations adopted the World Charter for Nature in 1982, which allows individuals to "contribute to nature in areas beyond national jurisdiction." Xiao Peng's installation of heavy machine guns on his boat, allegedly to combat IUU fishing, stems from this resolution.
In fact, this resolution has no binding force at all and has no relevant implementation clauses. In short, it means: If I say you have it, you have it; if I say you don’t have it, you don’t have it!
The EU is now saying: Xiao Peng, you have the right to combat IUU fishing. Just remember to fly our flag on the ship.
It is not surprising that they passed this resolution: Germany, needless to say, certainly does not want anything to happen to Xiao Peng; France hopes to continue to obtain gold from Xiao Peng; William in the Netherlands is also using his connections to smooth things over for Xiao Peng; and although the EU has so many countries, as long as France and Germany agree on something, it means that the matter has been passed.
So Xiao Peng now has a new title, 'IUU Fishing Observer', which simply means he is on a ship with a 'privatising license'!
When a country starts to become shameless, no one can stand it!
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