USCG to help build PH, others’ capacity vs. illegal sea activities

Adm. Linda Fagan relieves Adm. Karl Schultz as the 27th commandant of the Coast Guard during a change of command ceremony at Coast Guard headquarters June 1, 2022. Fagan is the first woman Service Chief of any U.S. military service. (DHS photo by Benjamin Applebaum via Wikimedia Commons)

MANILA – The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is committed to helping the Philippines and other Indo-Pacific partners build capacity to counter “illegal activities” within their waters.

In a telephone briefing on Wednesday, USCG Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan said the USCG’s sees its partnerships with states contributing to the promotion of a rules-based order in the wider Indo-Pacific region.

“[T]he Coast Guard as we operate, it’s in accordance with the agreed international order, rule of law, the conducts and codes that govern how mariners and military vessels operate and conduct themselves at sea,” she told reporters.

“And we will continue to operate and engage that way as a demonstration of sort of the importance of rule of law and ensuring that nations have capacity and capability to counter illegal activities or other encroachments of sovereignty,” she added.

Just last year, the USCG made a historic first when the USCGC Frederick Hatch (WPC 1143) visited partners in Tacloban in October.

At that time, a team from the US Coast Guard District 14 and US Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam discussed with the US Embassy in Manila mutual capabilities, training opportunities, and community engagement between the two states.

While in Tacloban, the crew, with support from the Maritime Security Response Team West, also hosted a subject matter expert exchange on maritime law enforcement with Philippine Coast Guard colleagues.