US Coast Guard vows to boost presence in Pacific, help allies in contested waters
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2019 08:30:11 +0000
THE United States Coast Guard has committed to boost its operations within the Pacific region and help Washington’s allied countries to enforce sovereignty in contested waters.
Vice Admiral Linda Fagan, commander of the US Coast Guard Pacific Area, said this could be done by deploying a small training team to a particular nation and assist them when it comes to fisheries enforcement and boarding “to guard against fishing incursions.”
“Or [we will do things such as] other law enforcement capacity-building, to bolster the capacity and the authority and ability to protect their own sovereignty has very much been the focus,” Fagan said in a telephonic briefing.
However, Fagan did not mention the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).
The US Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Stratton, as well as the Bertholf cutter, Fagan said, would be proof of their “continued commitment” for a safe, secure and predictable navigation on the high seas.
USCGC Stratton, which left Alameda, California in January,
will replace the Bertholf in the Western Pacific, Fagan said.
Bertholf has visited Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
“I just met with some of the Stratton crew…and I can tell you, they are really looking forward to their upcoming patrol in the region,” Fagan said.
She also admitted that the presence of Bertholf along the Taiwan Strait had stirred attention and, before its return to the US, held exercises with South Korea and the Philippines and as a result, ended up “operating in and around the South China Sea.”
“But it’s been a great benefit I think all the way around [and] certainly for us, and we are looking forward to Stratton’s deployment here shortly,” she said.
Fagan also admitted that the US Coast Guard has been keeping an eye on China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) militia within the hotly contested South China Sea.
“We obviously are aware and have been following the [Chinese] militia and some of the activity,” she said.
Fagan then cited the North Pacific Guard Forum, a multilateral forum where coast guards “are able to come together and talk about areas of shared interest.”
Those who participated in the forum were the US, Canada, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
President Rodrigo Duterte, as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), has called out Beijing to “get its hands off” Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, which is located within the Spratly group of islands (Kalayaan Island Group) in the West Philippine Sea.
The military has monitored hundreds of Chinese vessels roaming around the Philippine-occupied islands.
In a surprise turn, the Philippine government has been calling out China over the presence of Chinese ships near the occupied islands of Manila when in the past, they have been downplaying such presence and committed to file a protest on such. DEMPSEY REYES
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