Attempts from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to shutter the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have resulted in over USD 1 million (EUR 920,000) of funding being cut off to an Australian research organization that has heavily reported on China’s fishing ambitions.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institution (ASPI), a Canberra, Australia-based defense and strategic policy think tank, reportedly lost USD 1.2 million (USD 1.1 million) in USAID funding for research on China, according to the Wall Street Journal.
ASPI has published articles questioning the expansion of China’s fishing activities in the Pacific Islands – including critiques of a proposed USD 200 million (EUR 184 million) investment in a fishing port in Papua New Guinea – and the Antarctic.
Regarding the latter area, a November 2024 ASPI article, titled “China’s Fishy Behavior Demands a Rethink on Southern Ocean,” suggested China is blocking conservation measures at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in order to fish the Southern Ocean more freely.
“A new element of strategic competition is emerging in the Southern Ocean – in Australia’s backyard – in the form of Beijing’s push to control and exploit fisheries,” the article said. “The situation demands that we bolster capability while also cultivating consensus on the need to revise agreements to match the strategic realities of today.”
Bethany Allen, head of China investigations at ASPI, said the shutdown of USAID will …
