USA: USS Rushmore visits Vanuatu during OMSI mission

By MC3 Kryzentia Weiermann, USS Rushmore Public Affairs

USS Rushmore (LSD 47) file photo. (U.S. Navy/MC2 Amanda R. Gray) >>

VANUATU - Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD 47), with embarked U.S. Coast Guard maritime law enforcement personnel, anchored off the coast of Vanuatu for a scheduled port visit, Sept. 15.

During the visit, the crew provided tours of the ship, allowing visitors the opportunity to see and experience life aboard a U.S. Navy warship.

"We value our partnership with the countries in the South Pacific and are committed to assisting them in enhancing maritime security and keeping the sea lanes open for the benefit of all,” said Rushmore’s commanding officer, Cmdr. John Ryan. “This event is a unique opportunity for the crew to demonstrate the pride and professionalism of the Navy and reciprocate the hospitality we receive when we make foreign port calls.”

USA: Rushmore visits American Samoa during OMSI mission

By MC3 Kryzentia Weiermann, USS Rushmore Public Affairs

USS Rushmore (LSD 47) file photo. (U.S. Navy/MC2 Amanda R. Gray) >>

PACIFIC OCEAN - Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD 47), with embarked U.S. Coast Guard maritime law enforcement personnel, departed American Samoa after a scheduled two-day port visit, Sept. 5.

Under the operational control of U.S. 3rd Fleet, Rushmore and embarked U.S. Coast Guard District 14 maritime law enforcement personnel departed San Diego Aug. 14 for a deployment supporting the Oceania Maritime Support Initiative (OMSI).

OMSI is a Secretary of Defense program aimed to diminish transnational illegal activity on the high seas in the Pacific Island Nations of Oceania’s exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and enhance regional security and inoperability with partner nations.

"The Rushmore crew is excited and proud to be here," Cmdr. Rob Tryon, Rushmore's executive officer said during the visit. "We look forward to continuing to build our relationships with our partners in the South Pacific and assist them in enhancing maritime security throughout the area."

AUS: Marking the end of RAMSI

The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) will come to a close on 30 June 2017 after nearly 14 years of assistance provided to the Solomon Islands Government.

Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, acknowledged the significant Defence contribution to RAMSI.

“The outstanding success of RAMSI reflects the enduring commitment of Australia and its regional partners in working together to assist the people of the Solomon Islands,” Minister Payne said.

“As an Australian-led mission, RAMSI included assistance from 15 nations and supported the rebuilding of peace and stability in the Solomon Islands.

“The Defence contribution to RAMSI under Operation ANODE has been significant with more than 7,000 Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and Defence civilians deployed to the Solomon Islands with rotations of Defence Force personnel from Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.”

News Report: Tillerson to Tackle Regional Challenges on First Trip to South Pacific

US SecState Rex Tillerson

Nike Ching

STATE DEPARTMENT — The United States is enlisting its Oceania allies to tackle growing threats from North Korea and counter increasing Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. officials and experts say.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis are departing for Australia for annual ministerial consultations on June 5, aimed at deepening cooperation on “bilateral, regional and global” issues.

The top American diplomat will then travel to New Zealand June 6 to “reaffirm strong ties and cooperative coordination on shared peaceful interests” with that country, according to the State Department.

“We’ll be looking at ways in which we can more effectively counter the provocations that the North Koreans are making and find more effective ways of increasing pressure on them to get them back onto a constructive path of denuclearization,” State Department Deputy Assistance Secretary Matt Matthews told VOA during a telephone briefing Thursday.

Matthews says the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) meeting has been the principal forum for consultations between the two governments since 1985 in order to address “critical challenges.”

USA: USS Michael Murphy completes OMSI mission

By MC3 Danny Kelley

Fire Controlman 2nd Class James Masterson disembarks a fishing vessel Feb. 8 during an Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) boarding mission. (U.S. Navy/MC3 Danny Kelley) >>

PACIFIC OCEAN - The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy completed an 18-day joint mission in the Central and South Pacific under the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) to combat transnational crimes, enforce fisheries laws and enhance regional security, Feb. 18.

A Coast Guard law enforcement detachment from Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team (LEDET) 103 embarked USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) and conducted 16 fisheries enforcement boardings with the assistance of the ship’s visit, board, search and seizure team and law enforcement ship riders from Tuvalu and Nauru.

“While OMSI is an operational mission in nature, its execution has vast strategic implications for the Oceanic region,” said Cmdr. Robert A. Heely Jr., commanding officer of Michael Murphy. “Our patrol reinforced our strong support to the security and economic prosperity of the Pacific Island Nations.”

Five of the boardings were conducted on the high seas under the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission guidelines with zero violations, while the other 11 were conducted in the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Tuvalu and Nauru, with no violations in either zone.

Think Tank: Making the most of the French connection

Theo Ell

One of 2016’s more notable surprises was the selection, in April, of French shipbuilder DCNS as the principal partner to design and build Australia’s future submarines. Few Australians would have anticipated that outcome, but it’s among the more reassuring developments of the past year, because we’re able to manage its consequences. But this isn’t to say that handling deeper cooperation with France won’t require renovation in policy or in conventional thinking.

Australian–French strategic cooperation has grown steadily, from the signing of the FRANZ agreement on Pacific disaster relief in the early 1990s, to the establishment of the biennial ‘Croix du Sud’ multinational military exercises in New Caledonia, and the forthcoming Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, which will grant Australian forces regular access to French Pacific military bases.

But the 2016 submarine decision has taken Australian–French cooperation beyond logistics into unfamiliar territory. It challenges a notion that, despite formal acknowledgement of broad like-mindedness, and despite a rapprochement after decades of wariness over French policies in the South Pacific, Australia and France are too far outside each other’s spheres of understanding to collaborate in more sophisticated ways.

USA: USS Michael Murphy supports Oceania Maritime Security Initiative

By MC3 Danny Kelley, USS Michael Murphy Public Affairs

USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) transits the Pacific Ocean, Jan. 30. (U.S. Navy/MC3 Danny Kelley) >>

PACIFIC OCEAN - The guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard maritime law enforcement personnel began its support of Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) Jan. 31.

OMSI is a Secretary of Defense program aimed to diminish transnational illegal activity on the high seas in the Pacific Island Nations of Oceania’s exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and enhance regional security and interoperability with partner nations.

“OMSI is about expanding our network of cooperation with partners throughout the Asia-Pacific region to secure common interests in the Western-Central-Pacific,” said Lt. Cmdr. Connor Sullivan, the embarked Coast Guard team lead. “Our common interest is ensuring that these countries can protect their resources, which will allow them to become more economically independent.”

USA: Coast Guard, Navy complete joint fisheries patrol in Oceania

By Lt. Scott Carr, USCG District 14

A U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Law Enforcement Detachment Team boarding officer signals a rigid-hull inflatable boat for pickup from a Chinese fishing vessel during a Oceania Maritime Security Initiative mission with USS Sampson (DDG 102), Nov. 29. (U.S. Navy/PO2 Bryan Jackson) >>

HONOULU - The Coast Guard and Navy recently completed a joint mission in the Central and South Pacific under the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative to combat transnational crimes, enforce fisheries laws and enhance regional security.

A Coast Guard law enforcement detachment from Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team Detachment 108 embarked USS Sampson (DDG 102) and following a visit to New Zealand and the ship's tasking to assist with earthquake relief there, conducted eight fisheries enforcement boardings Nov. 27 - Dec. 2 with the assistance of the ship's visit, board, search and seizure team and embarked air department from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73. A ship rider from Vanuatu also lent local experience and expertise to the boardings under a bilateral agreement.

The boarding teams inspected documentation and fish holds for illegal activity and verification of compliance with conservation and management measures. Coast Guard law enforcement teams and Pacific Island Nation ship riders routinely conduct joint boardings within the host country’s exclusive economic zones to protect the ocean and living marine resources within.

News Story: Vietnam, China beef up defence ties

Beijing (VNA) – China wants to deepen result-oriented defence cooperation with Vietnam, stated Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan during his meeting with Vietnam’s Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh in Beijing on November 2.

Vinh is leading a senior military delegation to the sixth Vietnam-China defence strategic dialogue slated for November 4 in China.

At the meeting, Chang Wanquan acknowledged good outcomes of bilateral defence ties over the recent past, including the organisation of strategic dialogues, delegation exchanges, personnel training and sharing of experience on UN peacekeeping activities.

China is planning to replicate the model of annual border defence friendship exchange with Vietnam in its relations with other countries, he noted. 

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

AUS: Operation Render Safe helps bring safety to the Solomon Islands

The dangers posed by explosive remnants of war in the Solomon Islands will again be tackled with the commencement of Operation Render Safe 16 over the weekend.

The annual ADF-led Operation Render Safe deployment is Australia’s enduring commitment to the removal of unexploded and abandoned World War II munitions, commonly referred to as explosive remnants of war (ERW), which continue to pose a danger to communities in the South West Pacific.

Operation Render Safe 16 is operating until 7 October, 2016, in three primary areas: Honiara (Guadalcanal Island), Tulaghi (Florida Group) and Yandina (Russell Islands).

Some 120 Australian Defence Force personnel are joined by 40 specialists from New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom, with the full cooperation of the Solomon Islands Government and in close partnership with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF).

News Report: Marines, Navy To Create Southern Pacific ARG/MEU Rotation By 2019

A US Navy ARG underway

By: Megan Eckstein

The Navy and Marine Corps will deploy a second Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) team to the Southern Pacific beginning as early as 2019, to allow the Japan-based forward deployed forces to focus on the northern and eastern parts of the vast Asia-Pacific theater, a Marine Corps official said today.

Lt. Gen. John Wissler, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command, said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event that the details of where the Marines would come from are still being worked out, but “this is an opportunity to create a presence so the Forward Deployed Naval Force would have sort of the Northern and Eastern region and then that second (ARG/MEU) through two 90-day patrols would be worked out” to cover the Southern Pacific.

A Marine rotational force spends about half the year in Darwin, Australia, but leaves during rainy season to return to Japan and the continental United States, thereby decreasing the Marines’ presence in the Pacific for half the year.

News Story: Pacific island nations, U.S. agree to new multilateral tuna access, aid deal

SYDNEY, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The impasse on fishing access for the U.S. tuna fleet into one of the world's most lucrative fisheries islands has ended after the Pacific islands and the United States agreed to a new multilateral access and aid treaty.

Administered by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Fisheries Agency (FFA), the 28-year-old South Pacific Tuna Treaty was on the verge of collapse in the first half of 2016 following a significant impasse on fishing access fees following the collapse in tuna prices last year.

The treaty is the Pacific's most important aid, trade and geopolitical agreement governing the U.S. fleet's access to the Skipjack Tuna fishery in the South Pacific, providing much needed aid via the purchase of fishing days, or fishing effort, as well as fisheries surveillance by the U.S. military.

The treaty's negotiation, which had been on shaky ground over the past five months, ended at the weekend with an agreement to give the U.S. tuna fleet more flexibility in their access while the pacific nations get more control over their maritime Exclusive Economic Zones.

Read the full story at Xinhua

USA: Coast Guard, Navy complete joint fisheries patrol in Oceania

By Chief Petty Officer Sara Mooers, U.S. Coast Guard District 14 Hawaii

A U.S. Coastguardsman assigned to Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team Detachment 108, a Palauan law enforcement official and a Sailor assigned to USS Spruance (DDG 111) inspect a foreign fishing vessel June 3 as part of the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative. (U.S. Navy/MC2 Will Gaskill) >>

HONOLULU - The Coast Guard and Navy completed a 40-day joint mission in the Central and South Pacific under the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative to combat transnational crimes, enforce fisheries laws and enhance regional security, June 6.

A Coast Guard law enforcement detachment from Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team Detachment 108 embarked USS Spruance (DDG 111) and conducted 20 fisheries enforcement boardings with the assistance of the Navy's visit, board, search and seizure team and enforcement shipriders from the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.

"OMSI demonstrates the ability to partner with not only military agencies, but local agencies," said Cmdr. Manuel Hernandez, commanding officer of Spruance. "The ability to leverage the unique capacity and capabilities of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and their experience in law enforcement, USDAO, Foreign Fisheries Agency, and our partner nations in the area in support of the security and stability, and therefore the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region is incredible."

News Story: Middle East, Pacific issues to be raised in trans-Tasman FM talks

WELLINGTON, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Humanitarian and security issues will be on the agenda when the foreign ministers of New Zealand and Australia hold talks in Australia this week, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Monday.

McCully and Australian counterpart Julie Bishop would be holding the twice-yearly Foreign Ministers Consultations to exchange views across a range of foreign policy issues, McCully said in a statement.

Read the full story at Xinhua

USA: William P. Lawrence Wraps Up OMSI, Rejoins Great Green Fleet

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Emiline L. M. Senn

In this file photo, USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) sits in the vicnicty of a fishing vessel while supporting a boarding and inspection in February as part of the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative. (U.S. Navy/MC3 Emiline L. M. Senn) >>

WATERS TO THE EAST OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA - Guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) rejoined the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group (JCSSG) March 11, upon completion of her Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) tasking in the Western Pacific.

The JCSSG is the centerpiece of the U.S. Navy's Great Green Fleet, a yearlong initiative highlighting efforts to reshape energy use to increase operational capability and flexibility.

Despite her disaggregation from the JCSSG, Lawrence has continued to play her part as an integral asset of the Great Green Fleet. During the first two months of her deployment Lawrence used a blend of alternative biofuel and adopted additional fuel conservation procedures.

The result: sustained and independent operations at sea.

Think Tank: DWP 2016 - Australia in the South Pacific

Anna Powles

Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper states that it’s second Strategic Defence Interest is ‘a secure nearer region, encompassing maritime Southeast Asia and the South Pacific’ (3:68), which includes Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Pacific Island countries. So what does the White Paper reveal about Australia’s strategic interests in the South Pacific?

Well, in short, nothing that different than the previous two White Papers. The 2016 White Paper differs little from the 2013 and 2009 iterations on matters of the South Pacific. The same risks are articulated in the same language. The single major difference between the Turnbull, Gillard and Rudd White Papers is the defence build-up as outlined in the 2016 White Paper and how it will potentially impact the Pacific.

However, the White Paper is revealing for its three explicit messages about Australia’s view of the Pacific. Those are: Australia as the principal security partner in the region; state fragility and instability as a source of threat to Australia; and external actors taking advantage of fragility and instability and challenging Australia’s interests. However, those three themes are variations on leitmotifs found throughout earlier White Papers and the broader Australian narrative about its immediate neighbourhood. It is worth examining these messages in greater detail.

Think Tank: (Australia) DWP 2016 - the return of geography

Paul Dibb

Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper marks the return of geography to defence planning. Not that it had ever entirely disappeared, although Defence Minister Robert Hill at times tried his best to ridicule the importance of geography and persuade the Cabinet that the Middle East was of greater strategic importance than the defence of Australia. Prime Minister John Howard was fully alert to the domestic political dangers of such positions and promptly sent Hill off to be Australia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Australia’s unique strategic geography first came to prominence in the 1972 Australian Defence Review. That document was the precursor to the 1976 DWP, and identified geography as having ‘a compelling influence on Australian security’ and that Australia needed to be able to defend the continent ‘if need be, alone’. Self-reliance in situations of less than global or major international concern were stated to be ‘a central feature in the future development of Australia’s defence policy’. These concepts were elaborated in the seminal 1976 White Paper which stated increased self-reliance to be a primary requirement. The ’76 document observed the US alliance didn’t free Australia from the responsibility to make adequate provision for its own security, or to help support stability and security in its own neighbourhood.

USA: William P. Lawrence Supports Oceania Maritime Security Initiative

By Lt. j.g. Jane M. Baird

In this file photo, USS Wiiliam P. Lawrence (DDG 110) transits the Pacific Ocean in early February. (U.S. Navy/MC3 Emiline L. M. Senn) >>

PACIFIC OCEAN - The guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) supported two commercial fishing vessel boardings off the coast of the Republic of Nauru this week as part of the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI).

OMSI is a Secretary of Defense program leveraging Department of Defense assets transiting the region to increase the Coast Guard’s maritime domain awareness, ultimately supporting its maritime law enforcement operations in Oceania.

Embarked aboard Lawrence, a law enforcement detachment from U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team South conducted the boardings in support of U.S. and Pacific Island Nations (PIN) fisheries laws.

The boarding teams inspected documentation and fishing holds for illegal activity and conservation management compliance. PIN ship riders provide assistance as the local authority within their respective Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), an area defined by international law allowing each nation exclusive rights to the exploration and use or marine resources. Oceania contains 43 percent of the United States’ EEZs.

Editorial: Can China Jump-Start Its Maritime Silk Road in 2016?

By Shannon Tiezzi

A Chinese official mentions plans for the MSR in 2016 — but nothing truly new.

According to the director of China’s State Oceanic Administration, China has big plans for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) in 2016. Xinhua cited SOA chief Wang Hong as saying that China will advance the MSR with an action plan this year. Wang also spoke of establishing “a China-ASEAN maritime cooperation center and a platform to boost maritime cooperation in East Asia,” according to Xinhua. 

China has already issued an action plan on both the “Belt and Road” – the report on “Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road” from March 2015. That document laid out routes and priorities for the MSR: “The 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road is designed to go from China’s coast to Europe through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean in one route, and from China’s coast through the South China Sea to the South Pacific in the other… At sea, the Initiative will focus on jointly building smooth, secure and efficient transport routes connecting major sea ports along the Belt and Road.”

Yet though the “Belt and Road” were both unveiled in fall 2013, and given a joint action plan in March 2015, development of the overland “Belt” has outpaced the MSR. In particular, China has found eager partners for the “Belt” in Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran. Meanwhile, however, the most willing takers for China’s MSR investments are farther afield – such as Egypt – leaving missing links close to home in the sea leg of the “Belt and Road.”

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: Chile and the Southeast Pacific

The Chilean Navy ship CS Almirante Blanco Encalada

(Image: Wiki Commons)

By Balaji Chandramohan

The South American country has a growing presence in the Asia-Pacific.

Situated in the Southern Hemisphere at the periphery of global geopolitics, Chile’s rapid economic growth and stable politics has shifted its politico-military strategic orientation from the Southern Cone of South America to the economic growth markets of the Asia-Pacific, with its Polynesian island possessions in the Southeast Pacific serving as springboards.

The Andean country has begun to benefit from both the growing Atlantic-facing economies of Argentina and Brazil while improving its reach courtesy of its assets in the Pacific Ocean. The extent of Chile’s reach in the Pacific Ocean, and in particular Oceania, will be much more visible once the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is ratified.

As one of the initial proposers of the TPP, Chile will benefit both in terms of increased stature among its peers in Latin America after the multilateral trade agreement comes into effect and a subsequent boost to its economy. That boost will come in part as the TPP will increase trade among Chile’s island possessions in the Pacific Ocean, in the eastern part of the Polynesian Triangle in the Pacific Ocean.

As the geopolitical significance of the South Pacific increases, most of the attention has been directed to the area encompassing the Southwest Pacific, including Micronesia and Melanesia. Here, external players such as the Asian giants India and China increasing their maritime footprints.

In contrast, Chile is developing its presence from the Polynesian islands, which are in the Eastern Part of the Polynesian Triangle. That presence owes much to President Michelle Bachelet and her deft diplomatic touch, which has involved attending the Pacific Islands Forum on a regular basis and building Chile’s soft power among the island countries.

Read the full story at The Diplomat