Why Argentina’s military is deploying to surveil hundreds of Chinese fishing boats off its coast

The Argentine military is ramping up efforts to combat these fishing operations in a region experts warn is on the brink of environmental collapse.

The P-3 propellor plane banks sharply, silhouetted against dozens of shimmering lights in the sea against an Argentine sunset. As the camera pans across the scene, it becomes clear: the glaring lights come from dozens of fishing vessels dotting the ocean below. The footage, shared by the Argentine military in late February, shows the overwhelming scale of a flotilla near a marine boundary which separates the country’s more restrictive exclusive economic zone from less-regulated international waters. This area, about 200 nautical miles off the coast of southern Argentina, is notorious for illegal and unregulated fishing — often carried out by Chinese vessels, according to the Argentine Navy. Most of these ships hunt for squid, which are abundant along the Argentine coast and a vital food source in the marine ecosystem. The Argentine military is now ramping up efforts to combat these fishing operations in a region experts warn is on the brink of environmental collapse. The military’s footage shows an advanced P-3C “Orion” surveillance plane — designed for anti-submarine and maritime surveillance — approaching the fishing fleet. The aircraft took part in the Argentine military operation in January alongside a smaller C-12 surveillance plane and two corvette warships, according to the Argentine navy.