From January 13th to 24th, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Southeast Asia Training Team (SEATT) collaborated with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to hold a multinational joint boarding officer course in the southern city of Davao in the Philippines. The aim of the course was to enhance the capabilities and cooperation of maritime law enforcement agencies in the region.
According to the US Embassy in the Philippines, the course was funded by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and featured instructors from the U.S.-trained Philippine Coast Guard, as well as instructors from the U.S. Coast Guard and Vietnam Customs. They provided training to participants on how to safely board vessels at sea. The course covered topics such as maritime law, evidence collection and preservation, safety and risk mitigation, and arrest techniques.
A total of 32 people participated in this training, including 20 members from the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police Maritime Group, as well as partners from the Vietnam Coast Guard, Vietnam Customs Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department, Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Agency, and the Indonesian Coast Guard. The Australian Border Force also observed the activities during the first week.
Commander Rejard V. Marfe of the Philippine Coast Guard’s Eastern Mindanao Coastal Guard District stated, “The professional knowledge, resources, and guidance from the United States are invaluable in ensuring we are better prepared to address maritime threats. Together, we reaffirm our commitment to ensure that our maritime sovereignty areas are peaceful, secure, and prosperous.”
This marks the first time that the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs – U.S. Coast Guard training has been held on Mindanao Island. Previously, in 2023 and 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard Southeast Asia Training Team conducted three maritime law enforcement courses in the Philippines.
The U.S. Coast Guard Southeast Asia Training Team project will continue to host multiple training activities in the Philippines this year.
In recent years, the Philippines and China have had multiple conflicts in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. China claims almost all sovereignty over this globally crucial waterway, overlapping with sovereignty claims from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
In July 2016, a Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued a ruling on China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, stating that China’s territorial claims were based on historical maps and had no basis in international law. However, China refused to acknowledge this ruling.
(This article referenced reports from a Philippine news agency)