Marco Panganiba’s Post

Our US Coast Guard should re-orient its focus. Today, the DHS budget has severely cut the Coast Guard's operating budget: cutters are hard against the pier while recruiting is down, and missions are scaled back. So, why are missions still laid on for overseas commitment: the South Pacific, West Africa, the Persian Gulf? Our shores are porously open at levels never experienced in US history. Specifically, ALL of our shorelines are being overrun, effective maritime interdiction is down, all while piracy, human trafficking and insurgency are at full throttle. Biden's policies won't embrace a near blockade of such invasions (his policies are creating the problems), however, we're surely enabling problem by not using any/all available assets currently covered by operating funds. The US Navy should be taking over such "partnership" efforts in forward operating areas. The reality of today's economics, offensive threats and need for forward deployed infrastructure are best engaged by the US Navy coupled with the State Department. The USA needs the Coast Guard - at home - more today than since WWII.

Congressional leaders recommending establishment of a Presidential interagency maritime coordinator to synchronize national maritime policy, declaration of the maritime sector as national critical infrustructure, authorization of the Defense Production Act for the maritime sector, and a national strategy to “de-risk” the maritime domain. #seapower🌊 #NationalMaritimeStrategy #criticalinfrastructureprotection

How to equip the US Coast Guard against China’s grey-zone operations https://lnkd.in/gnZ5AxGB America’s allies in the Indo-Pacific are getting pretty familiar with China’s grey-zone maritime behaviour, but the United States itself is ill-prepared for dealing with it.

(Note: I have made some small changes to the legal cites on review) While domestic political discord and international tension and conflict dominate the news cycle, a significant action was taken this week by the United States to address increasing threats to maritime shipping in the Red Sea and approaches. On 11 January, a combined team of US Navy SEALS and a Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team (MSRT) boarded an unflagged dhow off the coast of Somalia. In executing the boarding two Navy SEALS were tragically lost. The boarding team located and seized materials and weaponry alleged to be intended for use by Houthi rebels against shipping. Fourteen crewmen were arrested and transported to the United States for prosecution in the Eastern District of Virginia. Four were charged and ten others were arrested and detained as material witnesses. Details can be found in the DOJ filing. This case is important because the violations of law being charged stem from implementing legislation following US accession to the 2005 Protocols to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts (SUA) Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (2005 SUA Protocols). The underlying SUA convention was developed following the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship ACHILLE LAURO by members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF). In the course of the hijacking a wheelchair-bound Jewish American passenger, Leon Klinghoffer, was shot and his body was thrown overboard. The US statute implementing the 1988 SUA Convention was used in the prosecution of the Somalian pirate who orchestrated the attack on the MAERSK ALABAMA in 2009. These cases underscore the importance of international cooperation and governance to combat threats to shipping on the high seas. Non-state actors operating in violation of international legal frameworks must be held accountable. The US should not be alone in acting to enforce recognized law. That said, the US should continue to evolve maritime security doctrine and the critical interagency coordination that enabled this operation and the following prosecution. We do this right!

How to equip the US Coast Guard against China’s grey-zone operations https://lnkd.in/gmZWDJBt America’s allies in the Indo-Pacific are getting pretty familiar with China’s grey-zone maritime behaviour, but the United States itself is ill-prepared for dealing with it.

Quad launches maritime initiatives The countries announced the Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025, to improve interoperability and maritime safety. The leaders of the Quad group of countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met at their sixth summit level meeting at Archmere Academy, Biden’s former school in Claymont, Delaware, to announce a broad range of outcomes. These included the launch of a new coast guard exercise, a logistics network, expansion of maritime surveillance. In terms of positions, the Quad strongly condemned aggression in the East and South China Sea and expressed alarm over the war in Ukraine, noting that all four leaders had visited the country. The countries announced the Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025, to improve interoperability and maritime safety. Future coast guard missions are planned for after 2025. A logistics network pilot project was also launched, which will involve Quad countries sharing airlift capacity to support disaster response across the region. A Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI), to train Quad partners “to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behaviour” was also announced. India will host the first MAITRI workshop in 2025. Significantly, a maritime legal dialogue has been launched to support actions to uphold the rules-based order, the joint statement said. Quad members condemned maritime aggression, with pointed references to situations involving China, which is currently embroiled in tensions with the Philippines, most recently over the latter’s coast guard presence on the Sabina shoal, 150 kms off its west coast. The statement condemns the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, and opposes the disruption of other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.#quad #pm

Read the article navigating the turbulent waters of twenty-first-century. Maritime security reveals an enthralling journey of obstacles and accomplishments that demands our collective attention. https://lnkd.in/ghBMwGu5

“The Houthis’ activities in the Red Sea and China’s maneuvers near Second Thomas Shoal showcase the diverse ways gray-zone tactics are employed in the 21st century. While the actors and contexts differ, these cases highlight the need for a nuanced and coordinated response from the international community to counter these challenges and maintain a peaceful and stable global order. By fostering unified responses, investing in maritime security, strengthening international law, and addressing underlying issues, the international community can better navigate the murky waters of gray-zone tactics and chart a course toward brighter seas.” https://lnkd.in/ef4FmyXp

The EU Council has launched EUNAVFOR ASPIDES. The objective of this defensive maritime security operation was to restore and safeguard the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf.

Again, something doesn't add up. The USCG doesn't have sufficient funds to meet its most basic mission obligations and must tie up cutters and other assets. Illegal immigration and illicit trafficking (i.e., illegal aliens, drugs, human smuggling) into the USA are at record levels from each direction - and increasing. So, why are USCG cutters conducting missions in the South China Sea, Arabian Sea (drug interdiction for GCC states) and Eastern Atlantic? Realities of budgets and the USA's extraordinary porous borders and coastlines would seem appropriate to re-prioritize USCG missions. Partnership agreements for USCG to patrol foreign waterways is understandable - in normal times. Between the Navy and Coast Guard we don't have sufficient assets or budget to satisfy real world requirements. That's another unfortunate discussion. It's also difficult to understand the concept of mission success when witnessing tidal waves of illegal activity into the USA and gunrunning exports from the USA while fully mission capable USCG assets are tied up - but also committed half-way around the world. I was a PM for USCG programs, but times are now different. We need every asset to protect the homeland.