Coast Guard Archives | Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

The Era of Coast Guards in the Asia Pacific is Upon Us

On its face, having coast guards patrol large bodies of disputed territory might be cause for optimism. But the way coast guards are employed in the South China Sea as blunt instruments to assert state power gives more cause for concern than optimism.

Vietnam Coast Guard: Challenges and Prospects of Development

By Nguyen The Phuong and Truong Minh Vu | January 2, 2017 | Categories: Coast Guard, Vietnam

The role of the Vietnam Coast Guard in Vietnam’s overall maritime strategy is rising in importance, but comes with its own set of difficulties in implementation.

Is South Korea’s Use of Force Against Chinese Fishing Vessels Illegal?

By Lisa Collins | December 12, 2016 | Categories: China, Coast Guard, International Law, Republic of Korea

Continuing clashes between Chinese fishing vessels and the Korean Coast Guard should be of concern to all countries in the region due to the complex problems they pose.

Are Maritime Law Enforcement Forces Destabilizing Asia?

By China Power | September 15, 2016 | Categories: China, Coast Guard

The following is an excerpt from the latest feature by CSIS’s ChinaPower project. Maritime disputes in the South China Sea present an array of potential flashpoints between countries with overlapping claims. In recent years, many of these countries have mobilized government vessels traditionally used for maritime law enforcement to reinforce their territorial claims. Key among […]

Anatomy of a Strategy

By AMTI Leadership | August 24, 2015 | Categories: ADIZ, China, Coast Guard, South China Sea, Southeast Asia, Spratly Islands, Strategy, United States

On August 20, The Department of Defense released its Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy. Mandated by Section 1259 of the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, the report outlines DOD’s strategy for maritime security in the region. On August 21, Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear briefed the press on the new document. Team AMTI commends […]

China’s Maritime Law Enforcement Reform and its Implication on the Regional Maritime Disputes

By Nong Hong | April 1, 2015 | Categories: China, Coast Guard

The Chinese government announced in March 2013 its plan to centralize bureaucratic control over its maritime law enforcement agencies. Its decision to combine its separate maritime law enforcement bodies into an integrated one under the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), a part of the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources (MLR). China’s maritime law enforcement reform, […]

Joint Patrols and U.S. Coast Guard Capacity

By Scott Cheney-Peters | April 1, 2015 | Categories: Coast Guard, United States

On March 17th at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition in Malaysia, Vice Admiral Robert Thomas, commander of the US 7th Fleet, proposed the creation of joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea by ASEAN member nations. The remarks engendered a mixed reaction, from the predictably negative Chinese Foreign Ministry response to the […]

The Japan Coast Guard: Resourcing and Responsibility

By Nao Arakawa and Will Colson | April 1, 2015 | Categories: Coast Guard, Japan

Japan is stepping up its law enforcement activities around the Senkaku Islands and is making that change public. Since 2012, Japan has had its Coast Guard assume a more active role in patrolling the Senkaku Islands, albeit without substantially increasing the overall budget. This comes in reponse to increased Chinese incursions into the territorial waters […]