To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo The building that houses the Japan Coast Guard head office in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo
The Yomiuri Shimbun
15:34 JST, August 4, 2024
The Japan Coast Guard and its Philippine counterpart have been participating in U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) patrol operations in the Central and Western Pacific Ocean since July 24, it has been learned.
The patrol is the first operation following an agreement reached between Japan, the United States and the Philippines during their first trilateral summit at the White House in April. The three countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas of maritime security through deepening partnerships between coast guard authorities.
Participants taking part in the operations were expected to arrive in Honolulu as early as Sunday morning Japan time, according to coast guard officials of Japan and the United States.
Four coast guard members from Japan and the Philippines were on board the large patrol vessel Waesche that belongs to the USCG. During the 12-day sailing from Guam, they participated in on-site inspections of fishing vessels as well as helicopter and small boat navigation drills.
By observing operational methods of each other and through the exchange of opinions, the three countries aim to reinforce trilateral cooperation in preparation for joint drills and patrols in the seas around Japan and the South China Sea that will start next year.
In June, the Waesche participated in the first joint maritime drill by the Japanese, U.S. and South Korean coast guards off Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, and made a port call at the U.S. Navy’s White Beach facility in Uruma, Okinawa Prefecture. The U.S. move is thought to demonstrate cooperation with Japan among other countries as China increases its advance into the East and South China Seas and the Pacific Ocean.
