Strengthening Cooperative International Maritime Law Enforcement in the Indo-Pacific: Developing a Combined Maritime Force of Coast Guards
Abstract
Good afternoon, and thank you for the honor of testifying today. I am a senior policy researcher at RAND, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization. Prior to joining RAND, I served in the U.S. Coast Guard for 30 years in multiple roles, including as Director for Maritime Security for the National Security Council; Commanding Officer of Maritime Security Response Team West, the Coast Guards west coast counterterrorism team; Deputy Director of Operations at Coast Guard Pacific Area; a Crisis Action Planner in the Future Operations Division at U.S. Northern Command; and aboard several Coast Guard cutters conducting United Nations (UN) Security Council sanction enforcement, fisheries enforcement, security cooperation, and joint operations with partner countries. At RAND, I have been a contributing author on a number of projects associated with U.S. Coast Guard operations, strategy, policy, and acquisition programs, as well as projects involving uncrewed systems and Indo-Pacific operations. The opinions and recommendations in this testimony build on my own research and experience in the Coast Guard. My testimony today is focused on potential ways to improve cooperation and effectiveness in the Indo-Pacific using a combined maritime force that consists of coast guards and similar maritime law enforcement agencies. This structure can be useful in improving unity of effort and enforcing a rules-based order while simultaneously countering Chinese hegemony and coercion against U.S. allies and partners in the region. My comments apply to how gray zone tactics have eroded rule of law, how a Combined Maritime Force (CMF) can achieve U.S. objectives, and why the U.S. Coast Guard is the best positioned agency to lead this effort. I will discuss how a CMF of international coast guards and maritime law enforcement agencies, under the leadership of the U.S. Coast Guard, might institute a shared vision focused on the enforcement of maritime law and international norms.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 04, 2024
- Accession Number
- AD1229290
Entities
People
- Eric M. Cooper
Organizations
- RAND Corporation