Ocean Newsletter

No.60 February 5, 2003

  • Management of Marine Living Resources through the Ecosystem Approach Joji Morishita
    Far Seas Fisheries Division, Fisheries Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)
  • USCG in the Far East: Its Stakes and Vision James M. Garrett
    Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Activities Far East, Captain
    Selected Papers No.5
  • Towards a Paradise for Fish in Seto Naikai (the Inland Sea) Mikio Hagiwara
    Former captain of the ferry Uko and current member of the Japan Educational Institute for Seamen (JEIS)

USCG in the Far East: Its Stakes and Vision

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) serves the public in diverse missions including law enforcement, search and rescue, the national defense, mobility shipping marine safety and security and has maintained a continuous presence in the Far East. In order to enhance awareness and prevent threats to homeland security, the USCG put forth a concept called Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). In the case of Activities Far East, the USCG has been actively working with the Japan Coast Guard and sharing information will lead to strengthen this robust partnership. The USCG has also been working with industry and other entities including local shipping and ship owners associations to enhance their reliable relations.

The USCG is prominent in its unique character among other U.S. Government services: America's Lifesavers and Guardian of the Seas. We serve the public in diverse missions including law enforcement, search and rescue, the national defense, mobility shipping marine safety and security. September 11th posed significant challenges and demanded USCG's efforts to rewrite its strategic plan in prioritizing and allocating more resources to marine security while maintaining the same quality service to other field of its missions.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to briefly discuss our stakes and vision in this transitional and unforeseeable time, particularly what we focus on in this dynamic Far East region.
USCG Activities Far East was established in December 1994, mainly in response to growing and continuing demands for U.S. commercial and military vessel safety inspections in overseas locations. At the same time, the USCG detachment in Singapore was assigned as subunit of this command and this created our current organization. Marine safety was core of this command's missions and seven inspectors were assigned in both Japan and Yokota at one time.
This command was also tasked to maintain liaison with the Government of Japan, and those with U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and Singapore and U.S. Forces Japan to meet changes and significant trends in the global maritime community that requires coordination and cooperation with one another.
Those remained at the center of our duties, however, the impact of 9/11 tragedy required us to review our business prioritiesand resource allocations in response to the unprecedented circumstances.
After the tragedy, USCG was one of immediate-action-taking services in response to potential threats and we increased resources for maritime security actions inside the U.S.
Current proposals for the USCG's moving to the Department of Homeland Security include a significant budget increase from $5.7 billion in fiscal year 2002 to $7.3 billion in 2003 which underlines the President's priority for the USCG and reflects the expectation of the public toward USCG.
Today, USCG operations comprise five main mission areas: (1) Maritime Safety, (2) Maritime Mobility, (3) Maritime Security, (4) National Defense and (5) Protection of Natural Resources. Each has its own goals as follows:
(1) Maritime Safety: Search & Rescue, Marine Safety, Recreational Boating Safety, International Ice patrol
(2) Maritime Mobility: Aids to Navigation, Icebreaking Service, Bridge Administration, Vessel Traffic/ Waterways management
(3) Maritime Security: Drug Interdiction, Alien Migrant Interdiction, EEZ & Living Marine Resource, Law/ Treaty Enforcement, General Maritime Law Enforcement
(4) National Defense: General Defense Duties, Homeland Security, Port and Waterways Security, Polar Icebreaking
(5) Protection of Natural Resources: Marine Pollution Education, Prevention, Response & Enforcement, Foreign Vessel Inspections, Living marine Resources Protection, Marine and Environmental Science
Of those goals, Homeland Security is the most challenging issue not only for the U.S. but the rest of the world in the wake of 9/11.
The goals of USCG's Maritime Homeland Security Strategy drive from:

  • Instill public confidence in the security of the ports, waterways, and maritime boarders
  • Build Maritime Domain Awareness
  • Ensure capability to interdict threats
  • Ensure positive/ controlled movement of high interest vessels
  • Protection of critical infrastructure
  • Increase presence for both deterrence and response capability

Effective homeland security should be built upon the principles of awareness, prevention, response, and consequence management. In this regard, USCG focuses on awareness and prevention as the primary objectives. Above all, awareness helps focus resources and provides efficiency to prevention which places a premium on awareness, detecting, identifying and tracking threats to our homeland security.
In order to enhance awareness, we put forth a concept called Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). MDA requires adequate information, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance of vessels, cargo and people of law enforcement interests and helps us possess total awareness of vulnerabilities, threats and targets of interests of the water. This will enable detection and interception of those which potentially pose threats to U.S. maritime system before they reach U.S. waters.
While MDA concepts functions as the core of homeland security scheme, the overall U.S. security scheme tends to focus on expanded outward security zone. This also lies at the center of this overall picture in the sense of early detection and prevention. This involves further strengthened partnership with international and domestic counterparts.
Having said this, in considering the significance of this command's edge in marine safety expertise and geographical location, we must play a critical role in this dynamic region in the light of MDA scheme essence. Asia dominates maritime industry, in both shipping and shipbuilding, is the biggest trading partners and of one of the biggest interests the U.S. has.
We have tried gearing up resources at hand to harmonize MDA, in particular, further enhancing awareness without reducing the effectiveness of our performance in other primary missions.
Since the objective of MDA is to obtain actionable information which we draw on from all available resources and to share that information with our partners at early stage, Activities Far East has strived for further enhanced partnership with not only U.S. and host nations government agencies but also industry and nongovernmental organizations. We have met and coordinated with representatives of governments and industry and asked them for their understandings and collaborations while our inspectors have carried out intensively onboard inspections and others.
This command's primary mission remains in marine safety as I mentioned earlier, but by harmonizing the necessity of tightened and reliable security arrangements with that of marine safety, we will further engage in security maters.
In particular, we will support the Container Security Initiatives (CSI), which involves joint efforts among federal government agencies lead by the U.S. Customs Service. Key Asian economies such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan so far have joined this encouraging arrangements and are sharing our concerns. On the part of USCG , our headquarters started assessing and scrutinizing the feasibility to expand its presence in this region as a part of supporting efforts pertaining to CSI. In fact, our subunit in Singapore has actively participated in meetings with parties concerned. We will continue active participation with this regard.
Activities Far East has been seeking an opportunity to conduct joint vessel examination with host nation governments in Japan and Singapore. USCG and the Maritime Bureau of Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport signed a joint declaration of intent on dangerous goods in October 2000. Based on this arrangement, we would like to expand further arrangements with our counterparts because they will provide mutual benefits for participants.
As for information sharing, our partnerships with host nation governments have been fostered more than those before September 11th. In the case of Activities Far East, we have been actively working with Japan Coast Guard. Sharing information involves concerns and understanding over issues we are faced with and this will lead to strengthen our robust partnership which will facilitate collaboration between these strong coast guards in the world.
We have also been working with industry and other entities including local shipping and ship owners associations to enhance our reliable relations. I recently addressed the Hong Kong Ship Owners Association and Singapore Shipping Association on USCG's perspectives on shared responsibilities in maritime security, ship safety and environmental protection. We are eager to have more opportunities to advocate this critical concept as well as USCG Qualship 21 and to call for further understanding which will reflect interests of marine industry.
In conclusion, the necessity of maritime security arrangements require the USCG to work on a global scale. Timely awareness in this scenario sheds new light on the edge of USCG in Far East and it will require USCG as a whole to become global oriented. I believe our enhanced partnerships with governmental and nongovernmental organizations will help our efficient performance in security aspect and this will serve public interests.
I am deeply appreciative of the support of the Government of Japan and its people in all of our mission areas. All of our USCG personnel "volunteer" for their assignments in Japan and consider it a deeply enriching and rewarding opportunity. Again thank you for this opportunity.

Page Top