This past summer, I and three of my U.S. Coast Guard Academy classmates had the opportunity to participate in an eight-day exchange with the South Korean Coast Guard Academy (KCGA) in Yeosu, South Korea, 200 miles south of Seoul on the Korea Strait.
We participated in small boat operations, learning firsthand how they operate their equipment to combat against illegal fishing. We reviewed the principles of basic damage control, and toured their training ship, the KCG Badaro, different in almost every way from the mighty barque USCGC Eagle (WIX-327). Unlike the Eagle, the Badaro is a modern vessel with state-of-the art training facilities that provide cadets an enriching underway experience. The cadets operate and fire live weapon systems; launch and recover small boats; work on various engineering platforms; and fine tune their shiphandling. We also trained in heavy weather simulators, which the KCG use to develop their equivalent to aviation survival technicians (AST).
Away from boats, we toured local communities to be exposed to Korean history and met senior KCG officers to learn about the future and overarching strategy of the KCG. Together, we learned from one another, identified our training and educational differences, and most important, furthered our working partnership even despite the language barrier.
The most valuable lesson we learned was the importance of international partnerships and training. The KCG’s operations mirror that of the U.S. Coast Guard. The KCG enforces South Korea’s maritime economic exclusion zones, conducts search and rescue, and responds to a myriad of humanitarian missions. The United States’ continued partnership with the South Korean Coast Guard ensures stability in this critical maritime region, enhances U.S. national security, and supports a robust maritime commerce system. Undeniably, this exchange program broadened my horizon to the larger issues U.S. maritime partners face in the Pacific.
Contesting the South China Sea
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, more than 80 percent of global trade (by volume) moves by sea, and some 60 percent originates in or passes through Asia. Through the South China Sea, an estimated one-third of global shipping (amounting to $5.3 trillion worth of goods) passes annually—$1.2 trillion in trade with the United States alone. During our visit, we learned firsthand that China is expanding its presence as it continues to develop a presence within the South China Sea and other parts of the Pacific with a “gray zone” strategy that consists of assertive behavior short of armed conflict and using its own China Coast Guard and People’s Armed Maritime Militia. It has never been more apparent that the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. government need to support Southeast Asian partners and invest in U.S. Coast Guard assets within the region.
Because of the U.S. Coast Guard’s ability to serve under the discretion of geographical combatant commanders, the U.S. government can leverage the Coast Guard’s capabilities to foster joint training activities with our Asian partners to maintain and improve regional stability within the South China Sea. The service has a rich history of training foreign navies and coast guards alike because the U.S. Coast Guard “speaks the language of both civil and military organizations” (as the Coast Guard’s International Training Handbook describes it). The service’s blended nature results in a “humanitarian reputation [that] makes USCG presence welcome in many regions and circumstances. But the absence of overseas regional Coast Guard International Mobile Training Branch (IMTB) offices hinders the formation of more permanent relationships.
The Coast Guard should consider establishing a Pacific office in South Korea, to improve joint training in maritime inspections and investigations and support efforts to combat China’s illegal and gray-zone maritime activities. The IMTB has working relationships with other Pacific partners, including the coast guards of Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Singapore Police. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines have received transfer of former U.S. Coast Guard high-endurance cutters, as well.
Making these arrangements less ad hoc through the opening of such offices only makes sense, as they would not be a direct, offensive threat to China or anyone else. A regional Pacific IMTB office would train foreign partners in maritime safety, natural resource protection, and maritime mobility. It would improve prevention of and response to fatal maritime accidents.
Shared Vision
Like the United States, our partners in the Pacific recognize the importance of the South China Sea, and how detrimental to the world economy a conflict there could become. As we cadets made our farewells to our Korean hosts, we all wished for future opportunities to work together, which would focus on enhanced collaboration, joint small boat operations training, joint maritime inspections, and further exposure of the KCG to its U.S. counterpart and standard operations. This continued partnership will offer both services the necessary exposure and training opportunities to further our strategic and economic interests. It is paramount that both the U.S. and Korean Coast Guards continue to cooperate and offer these experiences to their workforces to further broaden our horizons on international affairs and to reaffirm our beliefs in the importance of strategic partnerships and joint training.