As tensions rise in the South China Sea over the Whitsun Reef controversy and Chinese ships repeatedly invade Diaoyutai waters, military website military.com reported on May 5 that the two major branches of the U.S. military, the Coast Guard (USCG) and the Marines, will join forces to counter the Chinese maritime threat. Citing the report, the Chinese official media Global Network warned China to be more vigilant.
The report said the USCG, known as the fifth branch of the U.S. military, is deploying five law enforcement vessels from Pearl Harbor to the broader waters of the Western Pacific, in an attempt to work with the U.S. Marine Corps to counter the “increasingly active Chinese maritime police vessels and militia forces in the area.
According to the report, the five law enforcement vessels deployed by the USCG include two state-of-the-art “Legend-class” (Legend-class) national security patrol ships, which have a displacement of 4,500 tons, a maximum speed of 28 knots, and carry many of the same weapons and equipment as the U.S. Navy, including a 57 cm main gun, a “dense array” of close range weapons, and a “dense array” of weapons. The ship is equipped with many of the same weapons as the U.S. Navy, including a 57 cm main gun, a “dense array” close range defense system and a variety of radar and electronic warfare systems. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard in Guam is also replacing its main law enforcement vessel.
The USCG’s move is intended to combat illegal fishing, as “China has the world’s largest ocean-going fishing fleet,” the report said. And more importantly, “China is conducting aggressive operations through armed maritime militias.
The USCG and Marine Corps officers jointly presented a scenario in a Brookings Institution article last November: the USCG and the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps could work closely together in the event of an armed conflict between China and a neighboring country over an exclusive economic zone dispute.
In this scenario, the USCG and “China’s neighbor” would agree to joint law enforcement in its EEZ, while the Marines would deploy to nearby islands to provide cover for U.S. Navy anti-ship missiles when Chinese “fishing fleets” are present.
According to the article, the USCG National Security Patrol ships carrying the Marines “offer flexible options” compared to the Marines’ attempts to handle the Chinese fishing fleet on their own. “
China passed a maritime police law in January that went into effect Feb. 1, allowing maritime police vessels to fire on foreign vessels. Tensions in the East China Sea have grown since the law was introduced, as Chinese maritime police vessels have repeatedly sailed into the waters around Diaoyutai (known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands), which is under dispute with Japan over sovereignty.
In addition, more than 200 Chinese vessels have been anchored off the Philippines’ Ngau Yoke Reef since March, sparking a diplomatic war of words between Manila and Beijing, with Philippine Defense Secretary Lorenzana accusing China of intending to occupy more “important positions” in the South China Sea on April 4.
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