US Coast Guard looks to bolster Pacific allegiances as Chinese clout grows
- Highest-ranking officer Admiral Karl Schultz says American assistance at sea is an ‘alternative to chequebook diplomacy’
- Intensified focus on the region comes after multiple Pacific island nations established diplomatic ties with Beijing in the past two months
The US Coast Guard is focused on helping Pacific island nations combat illegal activities in an effort to strengthen their allegiance to Washington as China’s influence grows across the region, its highest-ranking officer said on Monday.
Admiral Karl Schultz said the coastguard was “doubling down” on its work in the eastern Pacific, and last month had conducted an operation to counter illegal fishing in Samoa that he expected would be replicated elsewhere in the region.
The coastguard would also be sending three vessels to the western Pacific territory of Guam in the next 18 to 24 months, Schultz added.
“We are on a trajectory where the geostrategic importance of the Oceania region has not been higher in decades,” said Schultz, the organisation’s 26th commandant.
The US Coast Guard last month conducted Operation Aiga to help Samoa and US territory American Samoa counter illegal fishing and patrol their territorial waters, along with support from the navies of Australia and New Zealand.
