(Reuters) – U.S.A, Japan and Australia will announce a new maritime initiative in Tokyo at the Quad summit. This is to combat illegal fishing from the Indo-Pacific. The Financial Times quoted a U.S. official.

It was announced that satellite technology will be used to establish a system to trace illegal fishing across the Indian Ocean to South Pacific, connecting to India and Singapore surveillance centers.

The U.S. President Joe Biden will be visiting Japan for the Quad Group of Countries meeting – Australia India Japan USA in Tokyo – that have intensified cooperation to counter China’s assertiveness.

Financial Times reported that this initiative would allow the countries involved to check illegal fishing when boats are not using transponders, which is what they do normally to locate vessels.

Kurt Campbell, U.S. Indo Pacific coordinator had stated earlier in this month that the United States would soon reveal plans to combat illegal fishing within the U.S.

Many countries of the Indo-Pacific area are unhappy with China’s large fishing fleet. The countries complain that the vessels violate their exclusive economic zones, causing environmental damage and economic loss.