Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 27) — The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is looking forward to “expand footprint” in the Western Pacific, including the possibility of holding more joint maritime drills as a “trusted partner” of regional allies.
\”To be a partner, you have to be trusted…our footprint is expanding a little bit here to help us be that trusted partner,\” Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander Vice Admiral Andrew Tiongson told journalists across the region on Wednesday.
The USCG official said the US is also recalibrating its \”national-level strategy\” to counter threats, including \”those who don’t subscribe to the international norms and standards.\”
\”I’m hoping to actually increase our presence through adaptive force packaging and certainly with the Indo-Pacific support cutter that is coming into theater,\” Tiongson said.
He referred to a refurbished 270-foot medium endurance cutter that will be deployed to Hawaii within \”the fall to winter time frame,\” which he said will \”do nothing but Pacific area missions.\”
It remains unclear whether the cutter will also be sent to perform joint patrols with its regional counterparts, including the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), which has repeatedly accused China and its coast guard and militias of resorting to \”dangerous maneuvers\” and other aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.
\”We are working together right now and we have been for a while. But what is new, is that we are becoming more and more multilateral,\” Tiongson said.
\”Togetherness is strength when it comes to maritime governance…Seeing the threats and challenges through their (allies’) eyes– understand what they’re seeing, trying to collaboratively work, (and) to get after those threats and challenges,\” he added.
READ: More details on eyed US-PH-Japan trilateral cooperation in South China Sea ‘soon’ – US official
According to Tiongson, the USGC’s interventions with regional counterparts also aim to \”get a thorough understanding of what they are trying to solve and to try to assist as much as possible.\”
Tiongson cited the role of USCG, as well as the coast guards of Japan and South Korea, in helping contain the oil spill in Mindoro, following the sinking of a tanker early this year. They also provide training and advice to the PCG on how to resolve the environmental disaster.
