As the 11th Our Ocean Conference (OOC 11) concluded in Mombasa on June 18, international delegates celebrated billions of dollars in new commitments and the new Mombasa Declaration on fisheries transparency and the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Meanwhile, various forums have welcomed the imminent implementation of the new Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Treaty) aimed at establishing marine protected areas. Yet behind this diplomatic trappings lies a frightening precedent for global scientific cooperation.
Under intense pressure from Beijing, the Kenyan government abruptly revoked the approved electronic travel authorizations of the Taiwanese delegation led by the Ocean Affairs Council (OAC). Defending the exclusion to international media, Kenyan Foreign Ministry Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said people with Taiwanese passports did not have valid travel documents. “Any person claiming to hold a Taiwanese passport would normally not be allowed to cross our borders due to lack of proper documentation and would not under any circumstances participate in any official state meeting convened by the Government of Kenya,” » said Sing’oei.
Even more worrying, a Taiwanese academic who had already arrived was refused entry to Kenya, with his passport and phone confiscated for more than 20 hours before the entire delegation was forced to withdraw.
This incident represents a dangerous wake-up call that requires great vigilance from the international community. The OOC, initially launched by the U.S. State Department, has long functioned as a critical platform from Track 1.5 to Track 2. It was designed specifically to circumvent rigid geopolitical gridlock, enabling governments, scientists, and NGOs to collaborate on pressing ecological crises. By extending its political veto to a functional, non-UN scientific arena, Beijing has signaled its intention to militarize global ocean governance, prioritizing political warfare over the survival of marine ecosystems. Kenya’s attempt to reframe a flexible Track 2 platform into a restrictive state-only event, under the pretext of the One China principle, sets a destructive precedent for multilateral environmentalism.
Taiwan is a key player in ocean governance. From a historic troublemaker accused of fish laundering, he transformed himself into a vanguard against IUU fishing, directly advancing the Mombasa Declaration. Globally, IUU fishing inflicts a staggering economic cost of up to $50 billion annually, devastating coastal livelihoods and fueling serious human rights abuses through forced labor. Catherine Chabaud, Minister for the Sea and Fisheries, stressed that transparency must become the universal standard in the fishing sector, because without it, international cooperation is paralyzed.
Through the aggressive digitalization of the Fisheries Agency, Taiwan can offer the international community robust verification of catch data. By aligning with the core mandates of the Mombasa Declaration – modernizing vessel records, publishing fishing authorizations and strengthening information sharing – Taiwan can deploy cutting-edge artificial intelligence in its vessel monitoring systems to provide AI predictive tracking that detects abnormal vessel behavior and unauthorized transshipments in real time. This technological capacity is vital for the conservation of marine genetic resources under the BBNJ.
Due to ecological connectivity, the designation of isolated marine protected areas is insufficient if IUU fishing – characterized by operations that circumvent regional fisheries management organizations and national laws – is allowed to undermine connected marine legal frameworks. By escaping control, IUU fishing paralyzes environmental impact studies (EIAs) and stock assessments essential to the BBNJ, creating a black hole of critical data in ecological benchmarks. Taiwan’s application of AI and aggressive digitalization deliver exactly the “fisheries transparency” advocated by the Mombasa Declaration, returning high-seas fishing to a regulated, rules-based order to safeguard this vibrant global ecological base.
However, this crisis also highlights the urgent need for Taiwan to maximize its internal governance in the face of unprecedented external exclusion. Under the BBNJ, the establishment of marine protected areas and the conduct of EIAs require a dynamic intersection of operational pressures with ecological vulnerabilities. For Taiwan to fully realize its potential as a global ocean manager, the cutting-edge AI monitoring data held by its fisheries authorities regarding vessel ownership and supply chains must be seamlessly integrated with the rigorous science developed by the National Academy of Marine Research (NAMR).
Eliminating national data silos and consolidating interagency maritime intelligence is no longer just an administrative task; it is a geopolitical necessity. By transforming fragmented technological prowess into a unified and accessible maritime data network, Taiwan can more effectively project its scientific capabilities and offer undeniable proof of its commitment to delivering high-stakes solutions to global ocean governance.
Taiwan’s forced exclusion from the Our Oceans Conference reveals a blatant violation of the principle of effective jurisdiction and the rule of law. The undeniable legal and maritime reality is that Taiwan exercises unique, sovereign and effective jurisdiction over its vast surrounding waters, its deep-sea fishing fleets and its law enforcement networks. Beijing’s administrative reach does not extend an inch to Taiwanese ports or research vessels. Forcing international hosts to exclude Taiwanese scientists based on a fictional geopolitical narrative ignores factual reality on water and undermines the integrity of multilateral environmental agreements.
If the international community tolerates Beijing’s extension of its geopolitical veto to Track 1.5 or Track 2 science platforms, the future of the rules-based maritime order is bleak. This signals to authoritarian regimes that political influence can buy censorship from key scientific players. To safeguard the oceans, like-minded partners – including the United States, Japan and Australia – must look beyond the usual diplomatic condemnations and actively combat this form of intimidation in the multilateral scientific sphere. Where formal and secondary pathways are compromised by bilateral coercion, these countries should integrate Taiwan’s research capabilities directly into robust, decentralized scientific coalitions.
We cannot allow political exclusion to dictate the conditions for ecological survival. The ocean knows no borders and ocean sciences must no longer tolerate geopolitical blackmail.