"China's leaders see distant water fleets as a way to project presence around the world. The aim is to be present all over the world's oceans so that they can direct the outcomes of international agreements that cover maritime resources." — Tabitha Mallory, CEO of China Ocean Institute and affiliate professor at the University of Washington, Axios, March 23, 2021.
In the past five years, more than 500 abandoned wooden fishing boats, often with skeletons of starved North Korean fishermen aboard, have washed up on the shores of Japan. For years the cause was unknown, until it was found out that the likely reason was that "an armada" of Chinese industrial boats fish illegally in North Korean waters.... It is estimated that China's fishing vessels have depleted squid stocks in North Korean waters by 70%.