‘No braver coast guard than PCG’

MANILA, Philippines — For an American maritime security expert, there is no braver coast guard in the world than the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Ray Powell, director of the SeaLight initiative of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University, said it is offensive for the PCG to be “singled out” in an attack, clearly referencing a lawmaker’s call for its abolition.

“There is no other coast guard that faces overwhelming odds with the devotion, with the resilience, with the professionalism, with the courage the Philippine Coast Guard does,” Powell said in an interview with “Storycon” on One News on Friday.

Controversial Cavite 4th district Rep. Francisco Barzaga Jr. earlier called for the PCG’s abolition for supposedly being a “waste of government funds.” The agency has since called out the lawmaker’s “unfair statements.”

In a separate article published on SeaLight’s website, Powell said the PCG and its “equally brave” allies at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources have continued to support and safeguard Filipino fisherfolk in the face of Chinese blockades and threats.

“Against overwhelming odds and nerve-wracking danger, PCG crews have resiliently avoided retaliatory violence. Instead they calmly and meticulously document incidents, adhere to international maritime protocols and continue their missions with disciplined resolve,” he wrote.

“The PCG’s work transcends politics… Every Filipino should feel extraordinary pride in these sentinels who stand atop its watery periphery at great personal risk and cost. They embody what I, an outsider, believe is the resilient Filipino spirit: facing adversity with courage, integrity and poise,” he added.

Integrated strategy

During the interview, Powell also reiterated his position that the United States should have an integrated strategy to address China’s “gray zone” tactics in the South China Sea.

Gray zone strategies refer to tactics that are more aggressive than normal diplomacy or competition but cannot be considered as acts of war.

An example is China’s use of militia vessels to assert its dominance in a territory within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“Elements do not make a strategy… Somebody needs to be in charge of gray zone and counterstrategy,” said Powell, referring to the different actions that the US is taking in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Whose job is the maritime militia? Maritime militia is a bunch of fishing ships that don’t fish… and are used as a paramilitary force,” he pointed out.

The maritime security expert said the US has to assign a deputy national security adviser who will develop that strategy.

“Everybody talks about the gray zone… the problem was, it (the strategy) never really happened. There wasn’t anybody in charge of it… We need to have an integrated response,” he added.