China's Distant-Water Fishing in Indian Ocean Has Multiple Motives

 Mizzima, a non-profit foundation that supports social change and development in Myanmar, published on 28 January 2026 a commentary titled "Weaponising the Trawl: China's Maritime Militia, Distant-Water Fishing, and the Strategic Contest in the Indian Ocean."

Chinese fishing fleets maintain a massive presence in the Indian Ocean region.  What appears on the surface as fishing is, in practice, a grey-zone strategy, blending economic exploitation, intelligence gathering, and coercive presence to reshape the maritime realities without triggering open conflict.

In addition, see Sweekriti Pathak's "Fishing and Force: China's Dark Fleets and Maritime Militias" dated 29 January 2026 published by India's Observer Research Foundation.  

Chinese Owners of Fishing Trawlers in Ghana Circumvent Regulations

 The Environmental Justice Foundation published on 23 March 2021 a major report titled "At What Cost? How Ghana Is Losing Out in Fishing Arrangements with China's Distant Water Fleet."

The report details how Chinese owners control up to 93 percent of Ghana's trawler vessels, which are beneficially owned by Chinese corporations in spite of a prohibition against foreign ownership or control of trawlers flying the Ghanaian flag.  These corporations operate through local front companies, using opaque corporate structures to import their vessels, register and obtain a license to fish.  Ghana is now losing between $14.4 and $23.7 million annually in fishing license fees and fines from trawlers.