“Expeditionary Cutter Squadron forces will integrate with US combatant commands to conduct exercises and maritime cooperative activities that enhance interoperability, strengthen strategic partnerships and advance shared security objectives throughout the region,” it said.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that the six 154-foot fast-response cutters were being sent to operate out of Singapore and the Philippines.
While Washington has previously sent larger coastguard vessels to Subic Bay on the Philippine island of Luzon, this deployment is the first time the cutters had been sent to the former US military base, according to the report.
It said the move would “help challenge China’s assertion of power in the Pacific” and was “the latest step in Washington’s efforts to deter Beijing from moving on … South China Sea features”.
