US coastguard to play bigger role in curbing Beijing’s ambitions in the South China Sea
- Washington hopes to reduce burden on navy by asking coastguard to step up its activity in the disputed waters
- Commanders warn that budgetary constraints may limit their effectiveness
Washington hopes to give the US Coast Guard an increased role in the South China Sea as part of a drive to curb Beijing’s ambitions, but commanders warn that budgetary constraints may hamper the service’s effectiveness.
The US has long wanted to check Beijing’s maritime expansion, to prevent it from ultimately diminishing America’s sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
But analysts believe a big worry at the coastguard, the coastal defence and maritime law enforcement branch of the US, is that uncontrollable military spending may ultimately undermine its effectiveness in the region.
“The challenge is the coastguard budget because the budget is either defence or non-defence, and we sit in that non-defence pot of money,” Vice Admiral Linda Fagan, the service’s Pacific area commander, said.
Fagan said the coastguard receives funding support from the US defence department, capped at about US$340 million annually.