The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton is based at U.S. Coast Guard Base Alameda in California. (Melissa E. F. McKenzie/U.S. Coast Guard)
A California-based Coast Guard cutter has completed a three-day port call on Palawan, the Philippines, not far from the scene of clashes between the Philippine and Chinese coast guards.
The USCGC Stratton, based at U.S. Coast Guard Base Alameda, arrived at the island province facing the South China Sea on Friday, according to an U.S. Embassy to the Philippines news release on Monday.
The port call aimed to strengthen the partnership between the Philippine and U.S. coast guards and “promote interoperability,” according to the release. Interoperability is a term the military uses to describe the ability of one nation’s military to use another nation’s equipment and training methods.
The Stratton visited Puerto Princesa, through which U.S. Army troops moved earlier this month with batteries of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, for live-fire practice as part of Balikatan, the country’s largest annual military exercise.
U.S. Marines likewise moved through the port during Balikatan en route to training sites on the island.
To the west of Palawan, in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the country’s coast guard clashed repeatedly last year with its Chinese counterparts over Sabina Shoal, a low-tidal elevation. Beijing asserts a territorial claim to the feature 82 miles northwest of Palawan.
The Stratton’s commander, Capt. Brian Krautler, met with U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson and Philippine coast guard Commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan aboard the vessel Friday, according to the release.
“The arrival of the USCGC Stratton is a moment of pride and possibility,” Carlson said in the release. “This is the sixth [U.S. Coast Guard] cutter exchange with the [Philippine coast guard] since 2019 — a testament to the strength of our bond and the enduring value of our Alliance.”
Two Philippine coast guard personnel trained aboard the Stratton during its two-week transit from Guam, according to the U.S. Embassy to the Philippines.
The 418-foot-long Stratton was scheduled this week for an at-sea exercise with the Philippine coast guard and navy focused on maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, and marine environmental protection in the Sulu Sea, according to the release.
The Stratton goes next to Japan for the second coast guard exercise between the United States, the Philippines and Japan, the release states.
