China's Proposed Fishing Project at Daru, PNG

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On 12/12/2020, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News columnist Laura Tingle reported that in November this year, Papua New Guinea (PNG) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China's Fujian Zhonghong Fishery Company to build a AUD200 million "comprehensive multi-functional fishery industrial park" on Daru Island, PNG. The announcement of the MOU's signing was by China's Ministry of Commerce, suggesting that deal was directly sponsored by the Chinese Government.

Daru town is the closest PNG community to Australia, within a few kilometres of the nearest of Australia's Torres Strait islands, and only 200km from Thursday Island. Strategically, it is a mere 1,400km from Darwin, Australia, the site of Robertson Barracks, a major Australian army base with a helicopter airfield. In November 2011 it was announced that up to 2,500 US Marines would be based for six months at a time at Robertson Barracks for training, over the next five years, but this troop ceiling was later revised to be achieved by 2020. The Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, comprising the US satellite surveillance base and Australian earth station, is located 18km south-west of Alice Springs, 1900km from Daru.   

While the announcement of the MOU signing has understandably raised concerns among Torres Strait Islanders about the future security of their fisheries resources, there are only relatively modest stocks of commercial fish species (prawns, tropical rock lobster, spanish mackerel, pearl shell, barramundi, finfish, crabs, trochus shell and sea cucumbers), protected under the Torres Strait Treaty between Australia and PNG. These marine resources don't appear to be sufficiently large to support the sustainable operation of the proposed fishery industrial park on Daru Island. 

To understand why a Chinese fishing company would make a substantial investment in a project on Australia's doorstep that is unlikely to be economically sustainable, some recent remarks by Australian National University academic and retired Australian Naval Commodore Richard Menhinik are enlightening.  Quoted in a 8/6/2018 ABC News story by Andrew Greene about a Chinese fishing boat loaded with electronic surveillance equipment docking next to Australia's largest warship, HMAS Adelaide, at Suva, Fiji, ex-Commodore Menhinik commented, "If you're in the Navy you presume that anytime a fishing vessel or merchant fleets of nations like China are around, that they have a dual purpose. You just presume that they may well be tasked by government for other activities".

While it is unknown how many, and what type of, fishing vessels operated by Fujian Zhonghong Fishery Company will be based at Daru, they will be able to legally operate very close to Australia's border with PNG, and have freedom of movement to and from Daru through Torres Strait. It's likely that the Australian Patrol Boat Group's vessels based at Darwin and Cairns, tasked with border protection, fisheries patrols and the interception of unauthorised arrivals by sea, will have plenty of additional work once the Daru-based fisheries project commences operations.