Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) dispatched four members of its Mobile Cooperation Team (MCT), a special team that provides foreign coast guard agencies with technical support on maritime safety and security, to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) from June 12 to 25 under the framework of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

It was the first US-Japan joint effort with a foreign coast guard since the signing of the annex of the memorandum of cooperation between the JCG and US Coast Guard in May.

This time, Japan’s MCT provided technical guidance in towing techniques deploying two 97-meter patrol vessels provided by Japan to enhance the rescue capabilities of the PCG.

Experts from the USCG also participated in the exercise and provided technical support on emergency situations.

The MCT also participated in the small boat operation instructor program that the USCG provided for the PCG, and in this way the US and Japan cooperated with each other to support PCG.

The coast guards of Japan and the United States, as maritime law enforcement agencies, have maintained a close relationship since the JCG’s establishment in 1948, and since signing the 2010 Memorandum of Cooperation.

Japan has been conducting technical support to coastguard agencies in the Indo-Pacific region in addition to being on duty for maritime safety and security.

The JCG says it will continue to commit to international cooperation with coastguard agencies in the Indo-Pacific region to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law.