中国渔船队活跃于厄瓜多加拉巴哥群岛周边海域，且疑似关闭GPS应答器后沿秘鲁外海向南航行；在大西洋一侧，也已确认其在阿根廷与乌拉圭周边水域活动。这些行为被怀疑涉及非法、未报告与不受规范（IUU）渔捞，并可能伴随如海床测绘等资讯搜集，使南美沿岸国家的警戒日益升高。
船队关闭GPS会使航迹与船只数量更难判定，执法所需的海巡能力门槛随之提高，但许多南美国家仍相对不足。日本亦面临类似问题，例如中国渔船在日本海大和堆附近的非法作业，以及日本东北太平洋沿岸的相关事件，因此希望支援同样受困的国家。同时也出现对非法渔船劳工人权侵害的忧虑，包含长工时与缺乏温控的艰困工作环境。
Japan plans to aid four South American countries—Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay—via UNODC, allocating 300 million yen (about $1.9 million) for drones, inflatable patrol boats, and image-analysis gear that can infer registration, crew size and routes.
Chinese fleets operate near Ecuador’s Galapagos and move south off Peru, often with GPS transponders apparently switched off; activity is also confirmed in waters near Argentina and Uruguay. These patterns are linked to suspected illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and possible seabed-mapping, prompting growing coastal concern.
Disabling GPS obscures vessel counts and tracks, raising the capability bar for enforcement that many regional coast guards cannot meet. Japan cites comparable problems from Chinese vessels near the Sea of Japan’s Yamato Bank and incidents off northeastern Japan, and also notes reports of worker abuses—long hours and harsh conditions on ships lacking temperature control.
