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By Ryan Chan
China News Reporter
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The United States and its ally Japan recently boosted their maritime law enforcement fleets as China continued expanding its naval and coast guard presence in the Pacific.
Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
China operates both the world's largest navy and coast guard by hull count, according to a Pentagon assessment, helping Beijing expand its reach and influence beyond East Asia. The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy has over 370 operational ships and submarines, while the China Coast Guard fields more than 150 vessels over 1,000 tons.
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Aside from asserting China's sovereignty in nearby disputed waters—including Japan's Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea—both the Chinese navy and coast guard have operated in the western and northern Pacific, conducting activities from fishery law enforcement patrols to joint operations with Russia that reach America's doorstep.
What To Know
On September 9, the U.S. Coast Guard exercised a $507 million contract option with Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana to fund initial construction of 10 Sentinel-class fast response cutters as part of its fleet modernization and mission expansion efforts.
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The Sentinel-class fleet, currently with 59 operational vessels, will increase from 67 to 77, with the first vessel funded through this contract option expected to be delivered in fiscal year 2028. They are part of the larger U.S. Coast Guard fleet of over 250 ships.
The 395-ton Sentinel-class vessels are "critical assets" to control, secure and defend U.S. borders and maritime approaches. The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned three vessels in Guam—the ships' home port and America's westernmost territory—in 2021.
Stars and Stripes reported in April that two additional fast response cutters are set to join the Guam-based fleet next year. It remains unclear whether the island will host more ships of this type to bolster the U.S. Coast Guard presence in the western Pacific.
Meanwhile, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries launched a 3,500-ton coast guard ship, named after the city of Hiroshima, on Thursday in Tamano City. It is a Miyako-class "Patrol vessel Large" (PL), equipped with a flight deck to support helicopter operations.
The new vessel, ordered in fiscal year 2022, is being outfitted with hull, machinery, electrical and weapon systems. Delivery is scheduled for fiscal year 2026—from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027—Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said in a press release.
According to a Japan Coast Guard report, the service operated 147 vessels as of April, including 20 classified as "Patrol vessel Large with Helicopter" (PLH) and 58 as "Patrol vessel Large." The former are the fleet's largest, with a displacement of 6,500 tons.
In the report, the Japan Coast Guard noted that its Chinese counterpart possesses ships that are "larger, armed and reinforced," warning that the situation around the Senkaku Islands, also known as the Diaoyu Islands in China, has become increasingly serious.
What People Are Saying
The U.S. Coast Guard said in a press release on September 10: "Expanding the [fast response cutter] fleet continues the Coast Guard's modernization through Force Design 2028, an initiative introduced by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to transform the Coast Guard into a more agile, capable and responsive fighting force."
The Japan Coast Guard said in its annual report: "In accordance with international law and domestic law, the [Japan Coast Guard] conducts day-and-night surveillance and vigilance against foreign official vessels, oceanographic research vessels as well as illegal fishing by foreign fishing vessels."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen how the U.S. and Japanese coast guards, along with their navies, will further enhance capabilities against Chinese vessels operating near their waters.
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