The following is from Hiroshi Yuasa's serial column titled "The Mismanagement of Civilization" at the beginning of WiLL, a monthly magazine released on November 26.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the five serial columns at the beginning of the magazine alone, starting with the column by Mr. Nobuyuki Kaji, surpass the truth that can obtain by paying a monthly subscription fee of 5,000 yen to the Asahi Shimbun.
It is a must-read not only for the Japanese people but also for people worldwide.
This column is a must-read, especially by Greta Thunberg.
The boldness of the "Iron Lady" against China
In the past, Indonesia had an "iron lady" who had the courage of the British Prime Minister Thatcher.
Just as Prime Minister Thatcher gave the "sink" order in the Falklands War, Indonesia's version of the Iron Lady gave hundreds of "sink" orders to Chinese fishing boats wreaking havoc in the South China Sea.
It is Susi Pudjiastuti, former Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, wearing sunglasses and a cigarette in her mouth.
She has a phoenix tattoo on her right leg and dares to "blow up" every time she captures a ship.
As a result, Chinese fishing boats operating illegally in the waters around the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea have been stifled since she took office in the Joko administration.
In addition, Minister Susi has built 20 comprehensive marine fisheries centers in the Indonesian border region.
She also used her political power to build a military base for the national army in the Natuna Islands, where Chinese fishing boats were seen.
However, those in the Cabinet, including the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Mr. Ruhut. They insisted that "enough is enough" in the bombing of foreign poaching boats after their capture and that the captured ships should be given to local fishermen.
Vice President Kala also said that "some countries are protesting," and Minister Susi's policy was a significant setback.
Subsequent "sink" orders have come and gone.
There were even rumors of a Joko administration PLEASE to China.
When Minister Susi stepped down as Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in October 2019, it again spotted Chinese fishing boats here and there.
Recently, Chinese maritime research vessels and aircraft surveying Indonesia and Malaysia's exclusive economic zones (EEZs) on the western side of Kalimantan (Borneo) have been spotted, and this has spread to harassment of Malaysia's oil development.
The energy-starved Xi Jinping administration has extended its tentacles into the EEZs of both countries in search of new oil and natural gas sources.
China consumes 50 percent more oil and 100 percent more natural gas than it did a decade ago and has designated the South China Sea as "China's Sea" to raid for resources.
However, the reality is that both Indonesia and Malaysia have avoided worsening relations with China through self-regulation.
Even when Chinese survey ships entered the EEZ in Indonesian waters in September and October, somehow the commander on the scene, Dato' Rasauman, reportedly told President Joko that everything was under safe control.
I can almost hear the excellent and dynamic former minister Susi gnashing his teeth.
Their weakness lies in their economic relationship with China.
Since 2001, trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has grown nearly nine-fold, and for more than a decade, China has become ASEAN's largest trading nation.
Indonesia, in particular, has more than $90 billion in new development projects as part of the "One Belt, One Road" Chinese economic zone initiative, including the bullet train concept.
Malaysia, which has territory on the island of Borneo, another beneficiary of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, has been similarly slow to respond.
Barely on October 4, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, to protest the presence of Chinese survey ships off the coast.
It is not only in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, where the Senkaku Islands are located that China is wreaking havoc.
It extends to the coasts of South America and Africa.
These fishing fleets are part of the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to become a "maritime superpower.
The fishing fleet has grown to the largest globally, backed by the country, and has become even more aggressive.
According to a U.S. newspaper, about 300 large Chinese trawlers were operating near the Ecuadorian territory of Galapagos Island last August.
They switched off their navigation monitoring systems and falsified the names of their vessels to repeat their illegal operations.
For months, giant refrigerator ships stayed on the high seas, overfishing, and processing.
Outraged by the illegal activities, President Lasso could not resist the temptation to take extraordinary measures.
He went to the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which initially had nothing to do with fisheries, and announced that he would expand the marine protected area around the Galapagos Islands.
In response, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica announced establishing even more enormous marine reserves.
The purpose of this was to prevent the operation of China's colossal fishing boats, accusing them of "plundering" fishery resources.
The first Chinese fishing boats to appear were less than 50, but now 800 are said to be appearing off the coast of Central and South America.
In a country-by-country ranking by the International Crime Observatory, China is the undisputed number-one illegal fishing offender.
Distant-water fishing is part of President Xi Jinping's national development plan to ensure China's inadequate food security.
The boldness of the "Iron Lady" is what is needed to deal with China's unquestionable illegal activities.
