U.S., Japanese, Philippine coast guards stage law enforcement drills near South China Sea

China should pay attention. Countries working together to bring rule of law to the seas because "someone" isn't following the laws.

American leadership at its best. Again.

Whose coast is Japan supposed to be guarding ?

American leadership at its best. Again.

This but unironically.

Can you imagine that the Chinese coast guards were near the US coasts???...

What do US coast guards have to do far away from their own shores bringing the war??..

Pathetic..

What do US coast guards have to do far away from their own shores bringing the war??..

No war. Their ships are pretty lightly armed. What do they do? Arresting smugglers for one. Enforcing international fishing laws. Sometimes helping weaker nations protect their own EEZ from rapacious Chinese fishing fleets. The US Coast Guard will carry a team of local law enforcement officers giving them a ride in essence to the ships they wish to search and possibly arrest if a violation is found. Checking for violations of UN sanctions wrt North Korea. Training other maritime law enforcement agencies and coast guards. Search and rescue. They ride herd on the US fishing fleet to make sure they follow the law. They make good will visits to foreign ports where a white hull is more welcome and appropriate than a naval vessel.

I’m not sure, maybe an expert can confirm, but isn’t PLH “Patrol Large, with Helicopter” the same base platform as JMSDF light destroyers, but with less armament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8uKCCs44oY

https://youtube.com/shorts/gQLFKhheetw?feature=share

@jaybeebToday 10:27 am JST

Can you imagine that the Chinese coast guards were near the US coasts???...

Made me think about what would happen if Cuba invited the Chinese over for some friendly drills.

China probably doesn't want to pay the price of food that would require. That's problem when the autocracy brigade tries to use their pawns for anything.

South China Sea = China's sea.

China kindly welcomes the world to use it.

Do not drive China away from her own South China Sea.

Very glad to have the Philippines back on the right side, now that Duterte has thankfully gone.

The Philippines took China to international tribunal and UNCLOS invalidates that imaginary "nine-dash-line" only for Duterte to call it a "only a piece of paper"

Duterte sold his country to China for supposed "pledges" but got nothing from it except lies and broken promises.

Law Enforcement drills in China? Last time I looked, China has one of the worlds best law enforcement agencies.

Japan getting pulled into USA's confrontational policies and become USA's puppy in Asia will result in other Asian countries act against Japan.

Really fool PM Japan have now.

Beware what you ask for,

Okay so the US and communist China are having Mexican standoffs in the Pacific. Big deal. If the Biden Banana Republic would just rename the South China Sea to the Eastern Sea of the USA, the problem would be solved. Communist China should be renamed to West Taiwan, too. China's J16 aeroplane cant be really good because the number is too low. America graduated out of F-16s last century. I doubt China would be carting around weapons of mass destruction on the open seas. What crazy country would buy such weapons from China anyway, say for a rogue government landlocked in Africa---where ships cant dock anyway.

RodneyToday 12:00 pm JST

Law Enforcement drills in China? Last time I looked, China has one of the worlds best law enforcement agencies.

Yeah, if you have no laws and just throw people in jail as long as you feel like it, it is easy to do law enforcement.

LOL

On this site when the US is involved in a region far removed from it's jurisdiction it's presented as "Law Enforcement drills"

@LegrandeToday 03:08 pm JST

LOL

On this site when the US is involved in a region far removed from it's jurisdiction it's presented as "Law Enforcement drills"

They might not be able to pick up the Chinese and Russian military offenders but they can at least scare them back to their own territory.

What law are they trying to enforce?

The unclos? The law the US is continuing to spit on by not ratifying yet claims rights with?

Something unfotunate happens, no one can claim damages obviously

The Philippines took China to international tribunal and UNCLOS invalidates that imaginary "nine-dash-line" only for Duterte to call it a "only a piece of paper"

You mean the arbitration suit with only one party and that party of course handpicking the arbitration panel=)

The unclos? The law the US is continuing to spit on by not ratifying yet claims rights with?

Sorry, your non-sequiturs have no power on this article.

Something unfotunate happens, no one can claim damages obviously

We'll just claim damages via the war you are so eager for.

You mean the arbitration suit with only one party and that party of course handpicking the arbitration panel=)

Don't show up to court and you are going to get an adverse judgement against you.

China and the Philippines had their best relations in a long time during the term of the past president.

Now it will be back to the worst because the current president, whom I recall seemed loathed by most everyone here when he was elected, sold the Philippines to the US.

Now the US has a lot of new bases in the country

Don't show up to court and you are going to get an adverse judgement against you.

You don't even know what arbitration means lol

@ianToday 05:06 pm JST

China and the Philippines had their best relations in a long time during the term of the past president.

And China blew it by showing up with their coast guard throughout the Philippines fishing grounds. What country do you think would tolerate this?

Now the US has a lot of new bases in the country

Sorry but rights to dock are not bases.

You don't even know what arbitration means lol

Oh stand back we got a lawyer here. Hope you are better at this than your previous jobs.

I know this much. There was a case, a hearing, and only one of the five judges (yes judges) were appointed by the Philippines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines_v._China

I repeat, don't show up to court and you are going to get an adverse judgement against you.

Hahahaha I hope you actually convinces somebody

Didn't actually read your whole comment but did you say in your post who paid for the fat salaries of the arbitration panel?

https://youtu.be/IhW--ykxiNI

TheRegulatorToday 08:21 am JST

Whose coast is Japan supposed to be guarding ?

Japan guards the Japanese coast.

What do US coast guards have to do far away from their own shores bringing the war??..

The article tells you exactly what the US coast guard is doing. It is training with Japanese and Philippines Coast guard ships, and swapping techniques. No surprise that anti west people jump from coast guard training to war. Coast guard are not considered navy ships to fight other nations navies. But perhaps some anti west are just warmongering and hoping for war?

Pathetic..

Working together is pathetic? What a bizarre statement..

South China Sea = China's sea

Correction. South China sea = International waters.

China kindly welcomes the world to use it.

China has no say in who may use it.

Do not drive China away from her own South China Sea.

China is as welcome to share international waters as everyone else is. China has no more rights there than anyone else even those on the opposite side of the planet.

What I find amusing in those who support the arbitration panel's "findings" is that based on those findings the Senkaku/Diaoyu do not qualify as islands, thus nullifying Tokyo's claims.

deanzaZZRToday 12:30 am JST

What I find amusing in those who support the arbitration panel's "findings" is that based on those findings the Senkaku/Diaoyu do not qualify as islands, thus nullifying Tokyo's claims.

They would simultaneously nullify China's claims as well forcing them to be shared, a reasonable solution.

OK. That would also nullify Japanese claims to Takeshima/Dokto, Iwo Island (as one example) and a bunch of other rocky, volcanic islands that cannot sustain human habitation. We are talking about hundreds if not thousands of features formerly referred to as islands, if you take the Arbitration ruling as binding.

deanzaZZRToday 03:36 am JST

OK. That would also nullify Japanese claims to Takeshima/Dokto, Iwo Island (as one example) and a bunch of other rocky, volcanic islands that cannot sustain human habitation. We are talking about hundreds if not thousands of features formerly referred to as islands, if you take the Arbitration ruling as binding.

Sounds good to me. We all know China only made a stink because of the oil discovered there. Also would be a first for China cooperating with a country that is not a dictatorship. In any event the Philippines are the ones seeking relief from Chinese bullying via UNCLOS.

The Japanese government would not be OK with it. That's the point.

Can you imagine that the Chinese coast guards were near the US coasts???...

China has every right to be in international waters, their Navy is trash though and can’t sail that far.

What do US coast guards have to do far away from their own shores bringing the war??..

First of all their Allie’s invited them to be there, second of all they aren’t in Chinese waters. Your crying won’t change either face

The only reason the US has not ratified the UNCLOS treaty despite the pleading of the US Navy to do so is a little known provision of the treaty that obliges the US to pay land locked nations a royalty on any minerals US companies mine from the sea bed. Everything else in the treaty is agreeable to the US. Admiral Crowe was heavily involved in its creation. The International Seabed Authority payments to land locked nations are the only hold up.

Here is why the situation regarding the Senkaku Island and the Chinese man made islands are so different. Under international maritime law anything that is submerged at mean high tide like the shallows and reefs the Chinese built their island on are defined as international water. Building something on them that is not submerged at mean high tide does not change this. They remain international waters and the airspace above remains international. China is trying to claim their man made islands have territorial seas, territorial airspace and EEZs. This is a direct challenge to centuries old maritime laws.

None of this applies to the Senkaku Islands since they are very much above mean high tide

@What ol' Jack Burton always saysToday 03:26 pm JST

Furthermore given the fact Japan recently announced any small rock is now classified as an island certainly doesn't help your ..exuse my scoff and snort bubbles,..your problem solving announcement ha ha ha ha ha ooh he ho hoo ha ho he he he hoo ha ha .

It doesn't hurt it, either. The Phillipines already won its case and proved China is not a law abiding country.

I’m not sure, maybe an expert can confirm, but isn’t PLH “Patrol Large, with Helicopter” the same base platform as JMSDF light destroyers, but with less armament

Not as similar as you think. The ship shown in the photo, Akitsushima PLH-32 , is actually about the same displacement as a Maya class DDG and at 150 meters almost as long. However where Maya is powered by electric motors powered by a combination of gas turbines and diesel generator sets, Akitsushima is powered by diesels geared to the shafts. She is much slower than a destroyer but with a 20,000 nautical mile unrefueled range has much greater endurance than a destroyer ( I can't find a spec for the Maya's but DDGs typically can go 8,000 nm or so unrefueled). Coast Guard ships only have light weapons and a very simple radars and combat systems. PLHs have no sonar or any anti-submarine warfare capability. Their hulls are optimized for seakeeping in rough weather rather than for speed.

Btw, PLH-32 and her five sister ships dwarf anything in the US Coast Guard except the icebreakers. She is actually longer than USCGC Polar Star but not quite as heavy.

Can you imagine that the Chinese coast guards were near the US coasts???...

Non Sequitur. Please discuss the topic of the article. However, if they are outside the 12nm limit and not fishing inside the US EEZ, they should expect to be followed, without interference. That's the law and the US follows it unlike the CCP-Chinese military and their leaders. Sometimes "might makes right", but when that happens, it is a failure of the diplomats. All nations have failed at diplomacy, but non-democracies seem to fail more often than others, if they have military. There are examples of this around the world and have been going back thousands of years.

Law Enforcement drills in China? Last time I looked, China has one of the worlds best law enforcement agencies.

Non Sequitur. Please discuss the topic of the article.

South China Sea = China's sea. Do not drive China away from her own South China Sea.

Ok, finally something on topic. Is the entire Indian Ocean "owned" by India? Is the Sea of Japan completely owned by Japan?

No.

Only the parts that are within 12 nm are recognized internationally as "owned" by the country. If two countries are withing 24nm of each other, separated by water, they usually split it down the middle. Some water passages are deemed too important for just one country to control, so international treaties have happened to allow shipping through those bodies. If there is more than 24nm between 2 coasts, then the center area is international waters, free for any ship, commercial, private, or military to sail, assuming those waters can be reached without violating the 12nm limit. Some large "seas" have treaties to allow access through a strait. For example, the Black Sea, the Sea of Japan, and a number of others. there much be a bunch in SE Asia too.

The entire 9-dash line that the CCP-Chinese claim is made up, with no basis in history. At best, someone found an old map which is meaningless for claims. At worst, this map was created to defraud the world. Since it was before WW2, it means nothing. Territories were settled post-WW2. Any disputes need to go to an international board for fair consideration and resolution. China doesn't want that, since they know