The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton departs Palau on June 28, 2025, to begin the inaugural Quad Sail, which included coast guard officers from Australia, India and Japan. (Sara Muir/U.S. Coast Guard)
Coast guard officers from Australia, India and Japan arrive on Guam aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton this week, marking the conclusion of the inaugural Quad Sail, a new initiative aimed at enhancing maritime cooperation among the four Indo-Pacific partners.
The Stratton pulled into Apra Harbor around 9 a.m. Wednesday after departing Palau on Saturday, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sara Muir, a spokeswoman for U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam, told Stars and Stripes by email that day.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad, was formed in the early 2000s as a diplomatic partnership among the United States, Australia, India and Japan. The group has since expanded cooperation on security and economic issues amid rising tensions with China. Their navies conducted their first joint exercise in 2020, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
The five-day Quad Sail marked the first time coast guard officers from all four nations worked together aboard a single vessel, Muir said. No other ships took part in the voyage, which featured onboard joint drills and cultural exchanges.
“The U.S. Coast Guard, an instrument of safety, security, and stability, brings its unique blend of capabilities to the Quad partnership,” Muir wrote. “Together, we share a commitment to a prosperous, open, and secure Indo-Pacific, and recognize the growing threats to maritime order.”
The sail’s conclusion coincided with a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in Washington, D.C., where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his counterparts pledged to expand cooperation on maritime security, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
The four countries also announced the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative to strengthen cooperation on rare earth mineral supply chains, according to a joint statement Tuesday by the State Department. Another dialogue focused on upholding maritime order is slated for later this month.
More joint patrols and exercises are in the works, Muir said.
“Our crews are ready to keep patrolling the Pacific, ensuring safe waters for our nation and our neighbors, while deepening ties through more exchanges,” she wrote. “Even the conversation on the mess deck over a meal or a game brings us closer.”
The Stratton, based in Alameda, Calif., began its Indo-Pacific summer patrol on May 10 with stops in Japan, the Philippines and South Korea, Muir said. It joined Philippine efforts to combat illegal fishing, participated in a search-and-rescue tabletop exercise with the South Korean coast guard, and trained with the Japanese coast guard in firefighting and rescue operations.
“This coordination builds skills to protect regional waters, ensuring our crews are ready for crises like typhoons or combatting smuggling,” Muir wrote.
