Tahiti considers buying 50 tuna vessels from Chinaff
16 October 2002
French Polynesia
French Polynesia President Gaston Flosse flew home to Tahiti Wednesday from his first official trip to Beijing for talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin on bilateral trade. He informed the Tahitian media that he is considering the purchase of 50 tuna fishing vessels from China, and promised to build tourism and black pearl trade.
France publicly reprimanded Flosse for even making the trip as “the law does not currently permit French Polynesia to negotiate treaties on its ownâ€, announced a Foreign Affairs
Ministry spokesman in Paris. "France's foreign policy demands a global coherence of its diplomatic action", he added.
Flosse, however, said his trip was approved at the highest levels in Paris and announced his intention to open a permanent trade office in Beijing.
It is a known fact within the tuna business that China is actively looking for ways to expand its tuna fishing fleet, and to gain access to Western Central Pacific Ocean tuna fishing grounds either through bilateral cooperation, or licenses
