Indo-Pacific coast guards try to head off a troubling storm
Budding relationships
In the Indo-Pacific, the most advanced maritime law enforcement cooperative relationship is between the US Coast Guard (USCG) and the Japanese Coast Guard (JCG). In 2022 they updated their partnership to the “Solid Alliance for Peace and Prosperity with Humanity and Integrity on the Rule-of-Law Based Engagement” (SAPPHIRE). This expanded partnership focuses on standard operating procedures for combined operations, training, capacity-building, and information sharing. The USCG and JCG now conduct advanced exercises together in Japanese waters, where they have practiced interdicting simulated foreign vessels operating illegally inside Japanese waters. The JCG also successfully engaged in joint counter-narcotics operations around Guam and assisted to rescue a lost freediver offshore Hawaii. It trained with the Philippine Coast Guard, setting the stage for the just-conducted trilateral exercise.Drivers and outcomes of cooperation
This expanding cooperation is driven by three overarching trends.- Perceived threats in the region have evolved to become more complex. Criminals use regional routes to drive the global circulation of illicit goods, including drugs, across borders while others seek to benefit from attacking this circulation directly through piracy and armed robbery at sea.
- Oceans and seas have taken on a particular importance to regional development, making their resilience and protection particularly important. The ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on the Blue Economy, for example, explains that “the ocean and seas are key drivers of economic growth and innovation.”
- With their intent to strengthen their maritime governance – particularly in improving maritime safety, marine environmental protection and maritime law enforcement – regional countries place more attention on creating and expanding their coast guards to improve the constabulary effectiveness of the maritime forces.
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