Quad Coast Guards to Carry Each Other’s Personnel in Indo-Pacific; Joint Initiative Planned for Training Third Countries

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:13 JST, September 20, 2024

The coast guards of Japan, the United States, Australia and India plan next year to start carrying one another’s personnel on their vessels that patrol the Indo-Pacific, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

A framework will also be established to coordinate support measures for third-country coast guards to improve their capabilities. As China intensifies its hegemonic moves, the four countries aim to strengthen the rule-based maritime order by further advancing their cooperation in maritime security.

In 2022, the Quad security framework, which is comprised of the four countries, agreed to establish the Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) framework for detecting suspicious vessels in the Indo-Pacific, among other purposes.

The countries’ leaders will announce their intention to further deepen cooperation at the Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Del., on Saturday.

According to sources, under the plan for patrols with other nations’ personnel, a coast guard vessel from one of the four countries would patrol the Indo-Pacific with personnel from the other three countries on board every year, starting from 2025.

Personnel on board will be present during law enforcement activities, including on-site inspections of fishing vessels, and also participate in onboard training exercises. By learning the operational methods of the other member countries and exchanging opinions with one another, the Quad members will improve interoperability and share knowledge, demonstrating cooperation to both member and non-member countries.

To start, members from the Japan Coast Guard, the Australian Border Force and the Indian Coast Guard will join a patrol vessel of the United States Coast Guard next year.

The JCG also plans to use a helicopter-carrying ship for international operations that is scheduled to come into service in fiscal 2026.

Additionally, the Quad leaders will create an Indo-Pacific maritime training initiative with Southeast and South Asian countries and Pacific island nations.

Currently, the Quad member states conduct training for these countries separately, with drills including those for maritime rescue and surveilling for illegal fishing. The planned initiative is aimed at improving the effectiveness of these exercises by coordinating them to avoid overlap.

Arrangements are underway to make the abbreviated name for the initiative read MAITRI, which means “friendship” in Sanskrit.