Officials sign a trilateral letter of intent at Coast Guad Base Alameda, Calif., May 9, 2024, for the U.S., Japanese and South Korean coast guards to work together. (Charly Tautfest/U.S. Coast Guard)
SEOUL, South Korea — Coast guard vessels from the United States, Japan and South Korea will reportedly train together for the first time next month, another move to enhance their partnership amid threats from China and North Korea.
The three nations are expected to conduct search-and-rescue training off the western coast of central Japan on June 6, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported Friday, citing unnamed sources.
Neither the Coast Guard’s 14th District Headquarters in Hawaii nor the South Korean coast guard responded to comment requests by phone and email Friday. A Japanese coast guard spokesman would not confirm the exercise by phone but said the three countries generally seek to increase maritime cooperation.
Senior U.S. and Japanese coast guard officials signed a letter of intent on May 9 to “enhance maritime expertise and promote regional cooperation” with their South Korean counterparts.
“This trilateral agreement between U.S., Japan and Korea Coast Guards is the lynchpin that will drive our coast guards to work together to advance maritime safety, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area commander Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson said in a news release May 12. “It will enhance our multilateral operations with each other, as well as other trusted partners in the region.”
The letter was signed nine months after President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida committed to strengthening their economic and military partnerships to ward off China and North Korea.
The Japan coast guard, for example, has reported appearances by the Chinese coast guard off the Senkakus, a handful of islets in the East China Sea claimed by China but under Japanese control just northeast of Taiwan.
The Chinese vessels shadow Japanese fishing vessels until the coast guard intervenes.
Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report.
