The coast guards of the United States and Japan have formally extended their cooperation agreements.
Vice Adm. Michael McAllister, commander of US Coast Guard Pacific Area, and Vice Adm. Yoshio Seguchi, Japan Coast Guard vice commandant for operations, represented their respective services during the historic document signing ceremony and celebration at Japan Coast Guard headquarters.
Although the two maritime services already have a memorandum of cooperation since 2010, this expansion has strengthened relations, increasing bilateral commitments.
In addition, the continued focus on maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific made the extension of the memorandum necessary.
The new operation is called SAPPHIRE and is an acronym for the Solid Alliance for Peace and Prosperity with Humanity and Integrity on the Rule of law based Engagement.
SAPPHIRE includes all the interactions between Japan and the US coast guards, aiming to increase these interactions as time goes on.
With the expanded cooperation, annexes have been added to the existing memorandum, which includes standard operating procedures for combined operations, training and capacity development and information exchange.
“We rely on our partners, allies, and like-minded nations to achieve our shared missions,” said McAllister, who added, “As evidenced by this agreement, our relationship with the Japan Coast Guard is stronger than ever, and I am looking forward to many more decades of partnership and collaborative operations in the Indo-Pacific.”
Seguchi commented, “We will conduct smooth cooperation in the fields of joint operation, capacity building and information sharing by this agreement. SAPPHIRE embodies the rule-of-law-based engagement between the coast guards, and we will expand the principle of Free and Open Indo-Pacific to other nations.”
