PARIS, July 19 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said...

PARIS, July 19 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday France and South Pacific nations would launch a South Pacific coastguard network to counter "predatory" behaviour, which an adviser said was aimed at illegal fishing, as China expands its maritime reach.

The United States and allies including France, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, are actively expanding their activity in the Pacific to counter China's influence.

Though tiny in land mass, Pacific islands control vast swaths of resource-rich ocean called Exclusive Economic Zones, forming a formidable boundary between the Americas and Asia.

"To better cope with the predatory logic we are all victims of, I want to boost our maritime cooperation in the South Pacific," Macron said after a video conference with the leaders of Australia, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea and representatives of New Zealand and other Pacific nations.

"We are going to launch a network of coastguards for the South Pacific around three main objectives: information sharing, operational cooperation and training," he said.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/france-south-pacific-nations-combat-predatory-fishing-china-extends-reach-2021-07-19/

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Ash here.

Australia is already donating 23 Guardian Class patrol boats, yet the South Pacific island-nations will need extra kit for this enlarged task.

Better build and donate more.

https://www.austal.com/ships/guardian-class-patrol-boat-pacific-patrol-boat-replacement

French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna currently rely on the French navy. Perhaps they would like some extra boats - offset the cost of the RAN sub contract.

Ash