US-China tensions: America may send more coastguard ships to counter illegal fishing in Indo-Pacific

Enhancing its coastguard presence in the region will ensure the US remains ‘the maritime partner of choice’, national security adviser Robert O’Brien says

Chinese vessels ‘constantly fish illegally or overfish in waters under the jurisdiction of other coastal states’, according to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

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The US is considering expanding its presence in the South Pacific, according to national security adviser Robert O’Brien. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:56am, 24 Oct 2020Updated: 10:46am, 26 Oct 2020

The United States is weighing expanding its maritime patrol presence in the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s “illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing” and its “harassment” of other countries’ vessels, a top national security official said on Friday.

Following the recent deployment of new-generation US Coast Guard (USCG) patrol ships to Guam, the US will next year begin formally evaluating the feasibility of homeporting more vessels to American Samoa, White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said in a statement.

Located about 40 miles east of the island nation of Samoa, American Samoa is an unincorporated US territory whose residents are considered nationals, but not citizens, of the US.

“If the survey is favourable, the United States could further expand its presence in the South Pacific,” O’Brien said. “Enhancing the presence of the USCG in the Indo-Pacific ensures the United States will remain the maritime partner of choice in the region.”

The US recently deployed its new-generation coastguard patrol ships to Guam. Photo: Reuters

In September, the coastguard deployed the first of three so-called fast response cutters – new-generation, armed patrol boats that can travel faster and further than previous iterations – to Guam, another unincorporated US territory in the Pacific. As of August 2019, the coastguard had homeported three of the new boats in Hawaii.